Out Of Time: An X-Men: First Class Story
by speedycanary
Summary: In 2012, Vi finally had friends, a team, and a home. That all changed when she was suddenly sent 50 years into the past. Everything she knew disappeared in a flash, but she was quickly given a new mission: Help defeat Sebastian Shaw and prevent World War III. How hard could it be for a member of the X-Men? (Early chapters have been rewritten to varying degrees)
1. Pyro Is a Dick

_October 8th, 2012_

"So, what did Dr. McCoy say she could do again?" Vi asked Kitty and Storm as they walked down the filthy sidewalk. The only real sound was her boot hitting rock and the rock hitting cement. It was surprisingly quiet and empty in the surrounding area considering it was New York City.

"He said that she can create an armor of energy around her body," Storm answered as she peered at the rock skipping along the ground, "Could you stop that?"

"That's sounds pretty badass," Vi replied, still kicking the rock. She pulled the collar of her leather jacket up to shield her neck from the cold and thought for a moment. "I'll stop if you use your powers to make us not freeze to death".

Kitty rolled her eyes "You didn't have to come with us, you know?"

"Yeah I did. I haven't been off the grounds in two weeks. Plus, I can only put up with Rogue and Bobby's arguments for so long." Vi like them both well enough but they tended to get on her nerves quickly when they were together.

"We're here." Storm informed the girls as they stopped in front of an apartment. It wasn't extravagant nor was it a dump, but it was pretty nice compared to the places she had stayed while living in the city. "Vi, maybe you should let Kitty and I handle this. Convincing parents to let their children attend the school requires…finesse."

"Plus we need a lookout. The Brotherhood might attack us again like the last time we recruited a student." Kitty added quickly.

"Yeah yeah, I get it." Vi grumbled and moved to lean against the closest streetlight. She sighed as the other two mutants were invited into the apartment. Her eyes scanned the dimly lit scene, making out overflowing trashcans and the occasional stray cat in the dark. The entire area smelled faintly of vomit and booze. It reminded her of old times before the school, before the X-Men.

In the distance, she could just make out the top of the building where Storm, Jean, and Scott had found her. It was the place where she was set on the right path. The thought of that night caused a pang of guilt for something she'd rather forget. Jean and Scott were dead, along with the Professor.

Soon, Vi heard footsteps nearing her. She could see at least three silhouettes because of the street lights but it was hard for her to make out any details. It seemed she didn't need to since one of the figures hurled a fireball straight at her. There was barely enough time for her catch the fireball and extinguish it in her hand.

"So it's you. Still with those X-Geeks, I see." Pyro sneered as he entered the circle of light, flanked by Toad and an unfamiliar man. The look of him sent a shiver down her spine, a feeling she wasn't all too familiar with.

"At least I'm not a traitor. What are you even doing here, Allerdyce?" Vi questioned, moving into a fighting stance. It always ended in a fight with him, ever since he joined the Brotherhood.

"That's not my name." Pyro glared at her. "We've come to take the kid before you can fill her head with all that peace and love bullshit"

Vi rolled her eyes, "So you can give her that 'Kill All Humans' crap? Well bring it on then."

In a flash, Toad lunged at her and Pyro conjured three more fireballs. He threw them but since Toad distracted her, she only caught two, the third hitting her right in the chest of her uniform. She silently thanked herself for deciding to wear it before Toad succeeded in tackling her. He cackled, showing disgustingly rotted teeth. The elemental mutant nearly gagged.

"Ugh, you smell like a swamp. Here, let me help" Vi felt around for the flow of water in the pipes of the nearby apartments. She willed the water to break through and it hit Toad full force, hurling the green mutant across the street.

As she got to her feet, Pyro attacked her with a flamethrower. She crossed her arms in front of her face and the flames stopped in front of her like they had hit a wall.

After being tipped off by the water exploding from the pipes in the apartment, Kitty and Storm ran outside to be greeted by the roaring fire.

At this moment, Toad returned to the fight, heading right for the new arrivals. Storm's eyes clouded over "Did you learn nothing from our last battle, Toad?"

He slowed down, fear rising in him at the memory of that fight in the Statue of Liberty. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning came from the sky and struck him down.

Vi laughed at the scene "Nice one Storm! Somebody want to take care of Snape over there? He hasn't even made a move yet and it's creeping me out," she yelled over the roar of the flames. Blood began to leak from her nose and black crept into her vision.

The man heard this and his lips curved into a smile as Kitty ran towards him. He opened a bright blue portal in front of her and she stopped just short of it with a laugh. "A portal? What's that supposed to do against us?"

He glanced over at Vi and saw her struggling to hold back the flames. The smile turned to a full on sick grin. "I'll show you", he whispered in a gravelly voice.

The portal in front of Kitty disappeared and reappeared behind Vi. Pyro noticed this and smirked. He pushed harder until the other mutant couldn't fight anymore. The force of the fire threw the girl into the portal.

"NO!" Kitty screamed and turned to run towards the portal. She was too late. The blue light faded into nothing.

She turned around and grabbed the man by the collar "Where did you send her?!"

He laughed hysterically. "I don't know. I don't know."

Kitty turned to Storm, who had quickly dispatched Pyro with a bit of wind, and they exchanged a grim look. Their friend was gone.

* * *

All that Vi could make out was a blinding blue light and deafening whoosh, until her back slammed on the ground and the sound of annoyed passerby filled her ears. Last she remembered, the street was empty. She opened her eyes to find the light blue sky staring back at her. It wasn't supposed to be daytime either. What had the Brotherhood done to her?

A kick to her side made her completely abandon that thought. "You alive?"

She turned her head to see a man standing above her, "I think?"

"Then get the hell up off the sidewalk, bum." He spat before walking way.

"Well I'm definitely still in New York," She mumbled as she got to her feet and moved out of the flow of traffic. She had been laying half in an alley and half in the sidewalk. It surprised her that no one had said anything sooner.

Brushing away the dirt from her jacket, she finally took in her surroundings. And it was all wrong. The buildings were outdated, and the taxis that passed weren't like anything she had seen in her time living there. The people walking by weren't any more familiar. She pulled out her phone, only to find it unresponsive.

She slipped in and followed the flow of pedestrians, an uneasy feeling building in her stomach. At the sight of a newsstand, she broke away and grabbed a paper. The date read: October 8th, 1962.

 _Holy shit_

The owner snatched the newspaper from her hand and sneered, "I don't serve your kind here."

If she hadn't been so thrown by what she read, she would have shot back, but she turned instead and walked away. 1962. Who did she know that would be alive in 1962? And who out of those few would believer her?

She had just the man, and luckily, she knew exactly where he lived, because she lived there, too.


	2. First Impressions

_October 8th, 1962_

Vi peered through the window as the taxi stopped at the metal gate. From what she could see, the mansion looked practically the same, except for the lack of students running around. The driver looked back at her expectantly, so she pulled out the wallet she had nabbed from a pedestrian and paid him generously like she promised. The fact that she stole again made her feel a little guilty, but flying all the way to Westchester hadn't been an option in her condition.

She stepped out of the car and took a deep breath before opening the gate just enough to slip through. At the end of the driveway, she spotted a car, so someone was there. She just hoped it was Professor Xavier. Finally, she reached the front door, and knocked.

A pretty blonde girl opened the door and raised an eyebrow as she took in what she found. "Can I help you?"

Vi cleared her throat. "Does Charles Xavier live here? I need to speak with him, it's important."

"I'll be right back." The girl closed the door, leaving her alone to pace on the porch. The Professor would be able to read her mind, he would know that she wasn't crazy.

The door opened again, and she paused. It was the same girl, but next to her stood two men, one a young brunet, and the other tall and intimidating. "I've never seen this girl before in my life." The first man told the girl in an English accent.

"Professor Xavier?" Vi eyed him up and down, noting that he was pretty attractive, before realizing how awkward it made her feel.

The blonde girl smirked, probably noticing how she looked at Charles.

Charles chuckled lightly, "I don't sense any ill intentions, so please, come in."

Once she was over the momentary embarrassment of practically checking out her mentor, Vi stepped inside. It looked and felt entirely different than she was used to. This place was more like a house than a school.

Charles placed his hand on her shoulder, "Let's go the the living room and we can discuss your problem." He turned to his friends. "Give us a moment, please."

He had intended to lead Vi there, but she knew exactly where they were going. Once there, Charles gestured to the couch and, once she sat, took one of the chairs across from it. She glanced at Charles, who was looking at her inquisitively. "You're a mutant, that much is obvious, but what brought you here?"

Vi toyed with the zipper of her jacket, "I'm from the future. You can read my mind if you don't believe me."

Charles straightened up at her words. How could she know abouut his ability? He pressed his fingers to his temple and reached out. She felt his familiar and calming presence in her head for a moment before he pulled away.

"My god. You're..." He breathed out.

"Yeah. You're the only person I know."

He leaned forward, his bright blue eyes trained on her. "I'm not sure I'll be able to help you return home, but you're welcome to stay here." She simply nodded in reply.

The blonde girl's voice came from the door, "She's from the future?"

Vi turned to find an entire group, including the two that she had already met. "How-Oh, right. Telepathy."

They all looked at her in confusion. Charles stood up from his chair and she followed suit. "Everyone, this is Vi. She'll be staying with us."

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Charles?" The tall man from earlier asked.

"Yes, Erik. I've read her mind. She means us no harm."

"Erik? Erik Lehnsherr?" She clenched her fists and glared at the man.

Charles touched her shoulder gently, and she felt his presence again, easing her mind. Her hands relaxed as she decided that it might be best to ignore Erik for the moment.

"It looks like she knows you," The blonde girl told Erik before walking over with a shy looking man in tow. "My name's Raven. Raven Darkholme." She gestured to the young man, "and this is Hank McCoy."

Vi's eyes widened. "Mystique? Dr. McCoy? Holy shit." They were considerably less…blue… than they were in her time. And they knew each other?

"So time travel. And just when I thought I couldn't possibly be surprised anymore." An auburn haired woman approached her and held out her hand to shake. "Agent Moira MacTaggart."

Vi glanced at her outstretched hand hesitantly then back to her face "Never heard of you". That was a lie, but the girl had never been too fond of government agents, even if they were friendly towards mutants.

Moira dropped her hand after a second and moved to stand next to Charles again.

The ginger boy was next to introduce himself. "Sean Cassidy. You've probably heard of me"

"Nope."

Disappointment flashed across his face before he remembered his friend, "Oh right, Mr. Tall, Dark, and Serious here is Alex Summers." Sean gestured towards the blond.

"Summers? So it runs in the family. You shoot lasers, too?", Vi made a gesture with her hand imitating Cyclops' optic beams. Alex frowned slightly in confusion before Charles cut in.

"Now that introductions are out of the way, I have something to ask of you. Will you help us?"

"Help you with what?" His tone made her feel like she probably didn't want to know.

"Preventing World War III"


	3. Surprisingly Not The Worst Night Ever

_October 8th, 1962_

"So...let me get this straight. This Shaw dude is trying to provoke the U.S. and the Soviet Union into starting World War III because he thinks the radiation will make mutants stronger?," Vi asked, twirling her fork in her pasta. They had decided to wait until dinner to give Vi the full explanation.

Charles answered from across the dining room table "In a nutshell, yes".

"Does this guy even know how radiation works?" She asked before taking another bite of the food.

Charles raised an eyebrow, "I suppose not. What do you say? Will you fight with us?"

Vi set down her fork and looked at Charles, "I'm not usually one to say no to a fight, especially one that'll decide the fate of the world. I'm in."

Charles smiled, "That is excellent. You'd be a great help with training tomorrow if you're up to it."

Vi just nodded and went back to her food. She wasn't confident that she'd be well enough, but she sure as hell wouldn't tell them that.

It was a few seconds until Sean spoke up "So is there anything you can tell us about the future?"

"I really shouldn't tell you anything specific to yourselves." She thought for a moment of acceptable things to tell them, "We have phones that can fit in our pockets that are practically small computers, there's the internet, where you can find literally anything and connect to anyone around the world, there are hundreds of TV channels. And that's just technology. A small part of it anyway," There were other things she wanted to tell them, but she wasn't sure if they were ready.

"Hundreds of channels?" Sean asked with a huge grin.

"A telephone that fits in your pocket?" Hank looked absolutely amazed at the thought. She made a note to let him look at her cell phone later.

"Yep. A lot happens in 50 years," she shrugged.

"Fascinating. Vi, if it's alright with you, I'd love to talk with you about your mutation, the physical aspects mainly." Charles said with a hint of excitement in his voice.

"You mean my hair," Vi said as she gestured to the short, deep purple locks.

"Were you born with it that color?"

"Yeah. Surprisingly my parents didn't think I was a demon or try to throw me off a bridge. I got off easy compared to some of my friends."

"That why you're called Vi? Short for Violet?" Sean asked with a snort. She could barely make it out due to the mass of food in his mouth.

Vi shrugged, "Something like that."

"So physical mutations are more common in your time..." Charles interrupted, the curiosity shining in his blue eyes.

"Oh yeah. There's blue people, green people, furry people, scaled people, I even know a guy with see through skin. He's kind of a dick, though. Overall, it's pretty cool." The corner of her mouth lifted slightly as she thought back to Dr. McCoy and Kurt and the rest of the X-Men. It faded as she wondered if they would find out exactly what happened to her. Maybe future Hank would remember all of this, or maybe he wouldn't. No one had ever traveled back in time to her knowledge so there was no way to really know how it worked.

"What's your power?" asked Erik. He and Alex had both been silent the entire meal so this shocked her slightly. Vi looked at him and though he was seemingly different from the Magneto she knew, her skin still crawled.

"I can control the elements."

"By elements you mean water, earth, fire, and air?" Hank spoke up, finally contributing to the conversation.

"Exactly," After a moment, her eyes glowed purple and she gestured to Hank's glass, the contents of which were floating above it in a ball. It wasn't just his though. All of their water was doing the same but in different designs. No one said a word as she moved the water back into the glasses.

Sean was the one to break the silence, "Imagine all the pranks we could pull on these guys." Alex elbowed the screamer sharply in his side, which caused him to yelp. Thankfully he had enough control not to deafen them all.

Charles gave Alex a look of warning then turned to the girl, "That was quite extraordinary, Vi. Tomorrow when you've recovered you can show us more. Now, if you are all finished, I suggest you head to bed. We will begin training bright and early." The telepath stood up, leading everyone else to do the same.

Everyone cleaned up after themselves and began to head to their rooms. Vi stopped for a moment, wondering where she was supposed to go, before an arm linked through hers. She turned her head in surprise to see Raven.

"Charles asked me to show you to your room," The blonde grinned at her. Seeing the famous Mystique this way perplexed her. She never would have expected bouncy blonde curls and bright blue eyes from a woman who always seemed to have so much pride in her natural appearance.

Vi pushed the thought to the side, "Alright, lead the way"

Raven's crystal eyes sparkled as she smiled at the other girl, "That was really cool. I can't wait to see more tomorrow."

"Thanks."

They reached the hallway with the bedrooms. "The first on the right is Hank. Then there's Alex, Sean, me, and you," she rattled off, leading Vi to her room.

When Vi opened the door her jaw dropped. The room was huge, much bigger than the ones in her time. It was furnished with antiques just like the rest of the house. It even had a balcony looking out on the grounds. "Wow. This is much better than in the future."

Raven laughed. "Oh I almost forgot!" she exclaimed before running over to the closet. She opened it to reveal a ton of clothing. "I thought you'd need some clothes. Wearing full black leather all the time can't be fun."

"You're right about that," Vi chuckled, wondering how she had gotten all of the clothes in there in the short time they had been separated since her arrival. Hank had probably been eager to help. "Thanks". She had just met the girl and she was already giving her so much, almost like Kitty when she had first came to the school. The familiarity of the situation made a knot form in her stomach.

"It's no problem. I'm just glad there's another girl here. Let me know if you need anything," She said with a smile before leaving the room and shutting the door behind her.

Vi waited for the latch to click then ran into the bathroom and emptied the contents of her stomach in the toilet. Her face contorted at the bitter taste in her mouth and she began to hyperventilate as she rested her head between her knees. It was real. She was in 1962.


	4. Showing Off

_October 9th, 1962_

 _ **Vi. Vi? Wake up, love. You'll be late for breakfast.**_

Vi cracked her eyes and looked to the window. There was only a dim light shining through it. She rolled over and groaned.

 _The sun's barely up, Prof._

 _ **I know that in the future you call me Professor, but I would much prefer Charles. You're making me feel old. Now hurry up, your breakfast is getting cold. Raven left some training clothes in your dresser.**_

Vi threw the covers off and forced herself out of bed. Even 50 years away from the X-Men she couldn't avoid waking up at dawn for training. 50 years...

She stumbled towards the dresser and pulled out the sweats that Raven had left for her. Deciding she would rather be outside in that than the furnace that was her uniform, she quickly threw it on before heading down for breakfast.

On the way down the hall, she ran into Sean. He was dressed in a similar outfit but his hair was mussed and he looked like the dead. "Let me guess, you're a late riser too?"

"Oh yeah. I rarely ever wake up before 12," Sean said with a sigh.

"Well, if Charles has his way, you won't be sleeping in at all until you stop World War III," Vi joked. They walked into the kitchen and were greeted to varying degrees by Charles, Erik, Raven, Hank, Alex, and Moira, all dressed in the same grey sweats, though Alex had done some alterations to his sleeves.

Vi sat down with Sean and watched as he piled his plate with bacon, eggs, and toast. "Is your secondary mutation a super high metabolism?" she asked him as she put food onto her plate.

Raven smiled, "I think that's just being a teenage boy. They tend to eat like pigs and never gain a pound." Sean mocked offense.

"I know that, but he's the worst I've ever seen. And I've lived at a school with teenage boys for 6 years," Vi pointed out as she buttered her toast. Her father had really been the worst, much to her mother's exasperation, but he had good reason.

"I'm right here, you know?" he huffed as he ate a piece of bacon.

After about 20 minutes of idle chatter, everyone finished up.

Raven sprung up quickly from her seat. "Guys let's go outside and have Vi show us more of her powers."

5 minutes later they were all standing in a large clearing on the grounds. Vi moved a few yards ahead of the group and cracked her knuckles. She looked back at Charles as she rose about 10 feet into the air, "I hope you're not too attached to this part of the lawn." Charles nodded at her and she turned to face forward again.

Vi slowly lifted one hand and the wind picked up exponentially. Reaching out for one of the small springs across the grounds, she lifted her other hand and above the trees, the other mutants could see a mass of water approaching. It came nearer only for her to use the other hand to shape it into a decently sized ball of water.

They began to clap but Charles gestured to them to wait. The air and water began to swirl together before suddenly a chunk of dirt and grass was ripped from the ground and added to the mix. Finally, she stretched out her hand, palm up, and created a small flame. She made it grow larger and sent it to the rest. The four elements mingled with each other in harmony.

The group below clapped and cheered. Vi sent everything back to its rightful place and landed back on the earth. Then it hit her. She collapsed into the grass and the group rushed over, save for Alex and Erik.

"Are you alright, love?" Charles asked as he helped her to her feet.

Vi nodded, wiping the blood away from her nose, "Yeah, I just…I lost my powers about a year ago and I'm not back at full strength yet, hence the nosebleeds. I didn't think this," she gestured at the area where her display had been, "would do it. Probably just weak from the time travel."

Charles nodded in understanding, leaving the question of how she lost her abilities for another day. "I can help you with that if you like. Are you still up for this?"

Vi nodded.

They all walked back to the mansion to start training.

"You need a cool code name like the rest of us." Raven stated as she walked next to her.

She shrugged. "I've got a code name. I wouldn't call it cool though. It's Gaia."

"Like the Greek goddess of the Earth." Hank chimed in.

"I like it." Raven smiled at her "It fits."

Sean came up beside her and whispered, "Hey, I was serious about the prank thing."

Despite the pain in her head, Vi smiled slightly, "Maybe I'll take you up on that."

"Moira and I will take Raven and Hank. Erik and Vi, you take Alex and Sean to the gym for combat training. We'll switch out in a few hours." Charles said.

Vi held in a groan. Erik was the last person in the world she wanted to work with.

"So what exactly are you planning on teaching us?", Sean asked as they headed to the gym.

"Since this fight will most likely be pretty soon, I probably won't be able to teach you much more than the basics. So first thing's first, we need to see what you can already do."

"Great," Alex grumbled.

Vi looked at him incredulously "Don't tell me you don't want to beat people up, Summers"

Alex thought for a moment then smirked.

"Let's get on with it then".


	5. Alex Is Terrible With People

_October 10th, 1962_

Vi laid in her bed staring at the dark ceiling. She had been there all of three days and the dread already began to weed its way deeper into her thoughts. She wondered if the X-Men were looking for a way to bring her back and, assuming they were, if they would ever find one.

She threw her covers off and headed out of her room. The mansion was dark and eerily silent as she wandered through the halls. She looked into the kitchen, half expecting to see Logan drinking a beer or Bobby eating some cereal, but she quickly shook the thought away and headed to the front door.

Only the light of the moon lit her way as she wondered farther out onto the grounds. After finding a suitable spot, she laid down in the dense green grass and stared up at the inky black sky. She smiled as the stars twinkled from far away. They looked the same as she remembered. It reminded her of all the nights that she had been kept awake with nightmares, only to go out to stargaze, and maybe sneak a cigarette while the teachers slept.

The mutant was forced from her thoughts by the sound of approaching footsteps. In a flash, she sat up and focused to create a ball of fire in her hand.

"Whoa there!" A pajama clad Sean exclaimed as he raised his hands in surrender, "It's just me, your friendly neighborhood Banshee."

Vi closed her hand and extinguished the fire, "What are you doing out here?"

"Same thing as you, I guess" He shrugged before walking over to drop down next to her and lay on the grass.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Vi asked as she laid back, no longer having to worry about a potential attacker.

"Well, you're out here looking up at the sky. It's not that hard to figure out," Sean chuckled.

"Good point," She sighed and focused on constellations above.

"Y'know, I've always wanted to go up there," Sean whispered, as transfixed by the stars as she was.

"Me too. Astronaut was my dream job, but obviously that didn't work out," Vi shrugged. "Superhero's a pretty cool gig, though."

"I'll bet," Sean laughed. "You okay?" the screamer asked hesitantly when she kept silent.

The words decided to fall from her mouth without her permission. "As okay as you can be when you're stuck 50 years from your home and all of your friends."

"Yeah, that's...definitely a bummer." He mentally kicked himself. _Good one, Sean._ "Some things are the same though, aren't they?"

She chewed on her lip as she thought about it. There was the house, Charles, Hank, and Erik, though they weren't what she knew. "The same, but different. If that makes sense. The house looks mostly right, but it's so empty. And Hank and Charles aren't even close to the people they'll be in 50 years. It feels...wrong."

She turned to look at him, hoping a change of subject would do some good, "So why are youso interested in space?"

Sean took a deep breath. He was a more of an open book than she was, but even he had to think before speaking. His childhood wasn't his favorite subject. "When I was younger, my parents would throw parties and I _hated_ it. They always wanted me to act like the perfect child and it was worse with all the company. So after an hour or so, I'd sneak outside and look up at this. I guess it was my way of escaping all of their expectations for a minute and imagining that I could be something better. They'd always find me eventually, but it was nice while it lasted."

Vi nudged him with a small smile, "Well, it wasn't just your imagination. After all this is over, you're going to be a superhero."

"Yeah," Sean grinned brightly.

* * *

 _October 11th, 1962_

It felt like she'd only been asleep for 5 minutes when Charles entered her mind for the morning wake up call. She protested like usual, but still managed to roll out of bed and put on her training clothes. When she reached the kitchen, the others were already there eating their omelets, which she had found Charles was surprisingly good at making. She sat down in her now usual place beside Sean where there was already an omelet. "I'm surprised you didn't eat this already, Cassidy."

"Believe me, I tried," He said with a mouthful of egg "Many times. But Raven threatened to do unspeakable things to me with my fork"

Vi looked over to the smiling blonde and smirked. Raven was so sweet now, but Vi could see the hints of who she would be in a few decades.

"If you're all quite finished, we need to begin training" Charles said, placing his plate into the sink.

Vi ate as much of the omelet as she could before they all split up.

"You're getting way better," Vi said as she dodged another punch from Alex, "But you're still a little slow"

As with their past few sparring sessions, Alex was growing more and more irritated as it went along.

"I know you're getting angry, Alex, but in a real battle you'll have to push that aside. You can't beat your opponent when you're seeing red." Vi gave him a sharp kick in the stomach. Alex glared at her and attempted another attack. She rolled her eyes and used the force to throw him to the mat. She walked up to him and offered her hand. He reluctantly took it. "If you'd just listen to me, you'd probably get hurt less. I know all this from experience."

Alex ignored her and looked over to where Sean and Erik were sparring. Erik was merciless, not giving him any slack. Erik got him on the ground and Alex smirked, "Well it could be worse. I could be the one training with Erik."

Vi frowned, "Yeah, I'm a little worried he'll break the kid."

"I'm not sure Erik would really hurt him," said Alex.

"You must not know him very well then." Alex nearly asked what she meant but she continued, "Wanna go again? Maybe I'll take it easy on you this time."

Alex moved into a fighting stance as she did, "Somehow I doubt that."

* * *

Alex and Vi decided to go outside for a short break, despite Sean's silent plea to not be left alone with Erik. Charles was running along the path circling the mansion with Hank approaching him at an inhuman speed. Hank tapped him on the shoulder and they stopped to catch their breath.

Vi approached them "That was awesome, Hank!"

Hank smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck.

Alex came up behind her. "Impressive, Hank. Feet like those, all you need is a red nose. Right, Bozo?"

Hank's smile disappeared instantly, "I'm done here." He stalked off towards the house.

"Thank you, Alex", Charles said as he walked past him, disappointment evident in his voice.

"You're off the hook for the rest of the day. From me at least", Vi told him with a sigh as she ran off in the direction Hank went. "Hank, wait!"

The scientist stopped before entering the mansion. "What do you want, Vi?", he asked as he opened the door.

They entered the house together. "I don't think Alex meant for that to come out that way. As you've probably noticed, he does have a bit of a problem talking to people."

"He only does it to me," Hank pointed out.

Vi thought for a moment. "Okay, you're right. But Hank, from what I hear he was in prison. That kind of environment doesn't really help your ability to socialize. Sure, he may be a dick to you, but it's not really intentional. Just give him a chance."

After a moment, Hank silently walked away, leaving Vi alone in the entryway.


	6. Magneto, the Master of Button Pushing

_October 16th, 1962_

Over the past week, they had made a lot of progress so Charles decided to give them a break. Well, all of them but Sean, who needed to test his wings, and Erik, who had been working one on one with Charles.

Sean sat in the window above the bushes with Hank and Charles on either side.

Erik, Raven, Alex, and Vi leaned out the other window to get a good view of the disaster that was about to ensue.

"Raven, Vi, you sure neither of you want to give me a good luck kiss? I might die," Sean asked, his voice breaking at the last bit. Raven shook her head and Vi rolled her eyes.

"Now, remember. Scream as hard as you can," Charles interjected before Sean could say anything.

"You need the sound waves to be supersonic. Catch them at the right angle and they should carry you," Hank added.

"They _should_ carry me. That's reassuring," Sean chuckled nervously

Charles patted him on the back "Good luck. And don't forget to scream."

Sean did the sign of the cross and took a deep breath before he lifted his arms and pushed himself out of the window. All the other mutants heard was a weak yelp before a Sean-shaped hole was created in the shrubbery. They couldn't help but laugh, even Erik and Alex.

"You alive, Banshee?!" shouted Vi.

Sean groaned and glared at her as he sat up and picked leaves from his clothes and hair.

* * *

"I should have known this day off was too good to be true," Vi called out as she emerged from the trees to find Charles and Erik waiting for her on the edge of the small spring.

"It's been a week and we still haven't worked on your abilities. I thought you would be happy about this," Charles raised an eyebrow.

Vi huffed and moved to stand next to the telepath "Let's just get this over with." She raised her hands and slowly turned the some of the water into a ball in the air.

"I want you to try using all of the water," Charles told her.

"I'll give it my best shot". She took a deep breath and pulled up more of the water. After about a minute it was all spinning in the air.

"Hold it."

Blood began to trickle from Vi's nose. "Not sure I can."

"Yes you can. Focus."

"You know...if I lose control of this...we're all getting soaked," Vi strained to inform them.

"I'm sure you could dry us off. That should be easy enough for you in your...weakened state."

Vi turned to look at Erik, "What did you just say?"

"You heard me. You're weak," Erik said, his face blank.

The ground began to shake violently. Charles' eyes widened and he touched his temple to talk her down before realizing what Erik was doing.

"How dare you?" The wind whipped about wildly as Vi replied in a deadly quiet tone, "You don't know anything about me, you bastard!" Fire erupted around her hands, causing Charles to panic.

 _ **STOP!**_

She turned Charles and blinked. After another look at Erik, she returned the water to the spring and extinguished the fire in her hands.

"I hate you, I hope you know that," Vi mumbled to Erik as she turned away to walk back to the mansion.

Charles looked at Erik disapprovingly.

Erik smirked, "What? It worked."

* * *

Vi wandered down the pitch black hallway. She hadn't had the best of luck getting to sleep after training and the weather wasn't too great for going outside. Usually, she would go sit with Dr. McCoy in the lab but she still wasn't sure how this version of him would respond to that after their conversation a few days ago. So she decided to head to the living room in hope that there was at least something on TV. That was until she heard music streaming out of Sean's cracked door. She thought over it a moment then knocked lightly.

A few seconds later, the redhead opened it the rest of the way and ran a hand over his hair, "Vi? What are you doing?"

"I couldn't sleep and I'm super bored."

"And you came to me because I'm so awesome and entertaining," Sean grinned.

"Nah, you're just the only one awake," Vi smirked.

"Hurtful," He feigned offense before stepping back and letting her in.

Vi rolled her eyes and looked around the room. She wasn't a neat nick by any means, but it made hers seem spotless in comparison. He had clothes strewn over the floor and candy wrappers and dirty dishes on the bedside table. It reminded her of how Bobby, John, and Piotr had kept their shared room in the old days, much to Piotr's dismay.

"It's a bit messy in here," Sean rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"I noticed." A new song started, making Vi turn to the record player in the corner. She moved towards it and touched the empty cover on the table, "The Everly Brothers?"

Sean appeared next to her, "Yeah. Have you heard of them?"

Vi looked up at him, "They're pretty popular in my time...with older people." She mumbled the last bit under her breath as she flipped through the small collection of records he had on the table, "Bob Dylan, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Johnny Cash…of course you're a Johnny Cash fan."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Vi chuckled. "I like a few of his songs, but I'm more into classic rock because of my dad,"

"Wanna listen to it?" He asked, taking the record from the stack.

"Sure," Vi leaned against the wall and watched as he changed out the record.

"I have a lot more at my place, and even more than that at home, but I couldn't exactly bring the all of them," Sean lamented as he placed the needle on the new record.

"You've got your own place?" Vi asked as she moved to sit on the edge of his bed.

"Well it's a dorm room so it's not _technically_ mine but it's close enough," Sean clarified.

"Wait, dorm room? You're a college student?"

"Yeah. I go to school in Boston," he sat down next to her on the bed.

"What for?"

"Music".

Vi looked at him for a moment then began to laugh.

Sean frowned, "Why is that funny?"

"You don't...sing, do you?"

"I do."

"And you don't deafen everyone within earshot?" Vi teased, though she was actually curious as to how that worked.

Sean chuckled, "No."

Vi thought for a moment, "Wait, won't you get kicked out of school for missing so much?"

The redhead considered this then shrugged, "I never wanted to go to school anyway. My parents made me. I'll find some other way to stay in America."

"Ah. Well, in that case, screw school." Something in the back of her mind wondered what exactly he meant about staying in America, but she let it go.

Sean laughed, "Yeah, I'd rather save the world from annihilation than go to class."

"You and me both, Cassidy," Vi smirked.

 **(A/N: I totally forgot about updating this even though I have like 85% of it finished already. I'm trying to deal with the numerous time skips to get it to the point of Erik getting arrested in 1963)**


	7. Deadly Origins and Boring Speeches

_October 18th, 1962_

Raven and Vi stood on the grounds watching the giant satellite. They could see the figures on top of it but at such a distance it was impossible to tell who was who.

"Do you think he'll make it?" asked Raven.

"Probably. If not, I can soften his landing," Vi said with a shrug.

"Did I miss it?" Alex asked, as he came from behind to observe with them.

"He hasn't jumped yet," Raven replied.

Suddenly, one of the figures pushed another, Sean, off the satellite.

"What do you want to bet it was Magneto that pushed him off?" Vi said bitterly.

It had been a few seconds and Sean still hadn't screamed. Vi prepared to use air to cushion him but it wasn't necessary. With an ear piercing shriek, Sean was flying.

The three spectators cheered and clapped once they were safe to uncover their ears.

"I wonder if he'll stick the landing," Alex said.

"Did they go over that before they pushed him off?" Raven's eyes widened.

"Ah, he'll be fine," Vi waved it off.

They quickly covered their ears again as Sean let out another scream.

* * *

 _October 21st, 1962_

THUMP!

"Dude, I know you said you don't want to hit a girl but you'll have to get over that," Vi told him as she offered a hand to help him up. "What if you have to fight the Angel chick? She's not going to hesitate."

Sean sighed as he stood, "Yeah, I know." He had been sparring with Erik but after the satellite incident three days before, Sean didn't want to be anywhere near him and Vi couldn't blame him. So Erik was off doing his own, probably diabolical, thing since Alex was testing his chest plate with Charles and Hank.

"Okay, then you need to fight me," Vi got back into her regular stance.

Sean reluctantly did the same. They began trading blows and blocking. He was doing better, but he wasn't quite where he needed to be. She sighed and stopped.

"Since dinner is pretty soon let's just call it a day," She handed him a water bottle before taking a drink from her own.

"Awesome," his eyes lit up comically at the thought of food.

Vi broke through the trees to find Charles standing in the same spot at the edge of the spring, "At least you didn't bring Magneto with you this time."

He turned to look at her, "I thought that we might have more progress without Erik. While I'll admit that he does get results, his methods are harsh to say the least."

"Pushing Banshee off the satellite made that kind of obvious," Vi pointed out as she moved to stand next the the telepath.

Charles cleared his throat, "Well, as Erik showed us previously, you can unlock your gift with anger. What you need to do is find the point between rage and serenity."

"Isn't that Magneto's thing?" she raised her eyebrow.

He took a deep breath, "I know this is not what you want to hear, but you and Erik are more alike than you would like to admit."

Vi snorted, "Thanks for that."

"At least give it a chance. If it doesn't work, then we can try something else"

She stared at the telepath for a moment, "...Fine. So how do we do this?"

"I'll need to access the brightest corner of your memory system," Charles informed her with a wiggle of his fingers.

Vi sighed deeply, "Just try to stay out of the spoilery stuff, okay. I don't want you seeing too much of your future or theirs," she gestured in the general direction of the mansion.

Charles pressed his fingers to his temple and she shut her eyes. His presence being so deep in her head was unnerving at first but the warmth of it had begun to sink in. Suddenly, there was in image pushed to the front of her brain.

 _She was very young, about 6, and her mother and father were there. They tucked her into bed and laid on either side of her to read a story. Her mother stroked her violet hair as her father's voice lulled her to sleep with a smile on her face._

Vi could feel things that she hadn't been able to feel properly since the Alcatraz incident. Every ripple of the water in the spring, the movements of the air, the rumbling of the earth, the licking heat of flame. She got lost in it for what seemed like seconds to her.

 _ **Vi, love, you may want to stop before you raze the grounds.**_

Her eyes snapped open to find a mess of flame and water and rock in the air. She gasped and quickly replaced everything. Slowly, she turned to Charles, tears staining her cheeks and his, "Guess you were right."

He smiled lightly. After a moment it faded and he asked quietly, "What did he do to make you hate him so much?"

She sighed and hesitantly looked into his eyes, "I was 10 years old. People came to kill my family because of our relation to him. They ended up killing my mother and my little sister, Luna, and my father died to protect me. I had to live on my own for nearly a year and, to make matters worse, I couldn't control my powers, but eventually you found me with Cerebro. He's also the reason I lost my powers." _And he's the reason you're dead._ Thankfully, Charles wasn't in her mind at the moment.

Charles placed a hand on her shoulder, "Vi, I am so sorry."

Vi turned her eyes to the trees, "Don't be. Just...don't tell him, okay?"

"Erik will not hear of this, I swear."

Vi nodded.

"Are you hungry? Dinner must be done as I can feel Sean's excitement radiating all the way out here," Charles chuckled lightly, glad for a chance to change the subject.

Vi cracked a smile, "I bet you can. Let's go, Chuck."

"Don't call me that."

* * *

Vi sat in the dark kitchen with a bowl of ice cream, reaching out to feel the breeze outside. She was a little more comfortable there now that she had unlocked her powers again.

Her spoon slowly lifted out of her bowl and she turned to see Erik leaning in the doorway, "Shouldn't you be asleep? You have to train in the morning."

"So do you, but I'm not your mother so I wouldn't have mentioned it," Vi rolled her eyes as she grabbed the spoon from the air.

Erik moved to stand at the end of the island across from her, ignoring her comment, "Charles tells me that you've unlocked your gifts. That, at your full potential, you're quite extraordinary."

Vi locked eyes with him and ate a spoonful of ice cream, "Just cut to the chase, Lehnsherr. What do you want?"

He gave a small smirk, "You may hate me for whatever reason, but that doesn't change the fact that we're gods among ants. We're the next stage of evolution and despite what Charles may believe, we are meant for more than-"

"Okay, you can stop there," Vi interrupted, taking another bite of ice cream.

Erik frowned, "So you agree?"

She raised an eyebrow, "Honestly? I've always agreed with many of your points, but my hate for you outweighs any hate I could possibly have for humans. In another world where things had gone differently, I'm sure I would have been right there on your side, but this isn't that world. So you can stow the 'Kill All Humans' speeches because I've heard enough to last me a lifetime and they don't do shit."

"I thought there was a chance that you would see reason. I was wrong," Erik replied darkly.

"Right. I can't 'see reason' because I don't want to join your terrorist boy band. That makes sense." Vi stood up and placed her bowl in the sink.

"When the time comes, you'll wish you had said yes."

"Whatever, go try that shit on someone else," she waved dismissively as she left Erik standing there alone.

* * *

She stood at the door to Hank's lab and knocked quietly. Vi had decided not to bother Sean that night since she had been doing it the last few days, but after that talk with Erik a few minutes before, she needed to go somewhere. Hank hadn't given her any reason in the last few days to make her think he was in a bad mood so that was her best bet.

The door opened slowly to reveal Hank. "Vi? What are you doing here?"

"Couldn't sleep. Mind if I sit in here with you?" She asked, trying not to seem to hopeful.

Hank pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes for a moment before stepping back and opening the door wider, "I'm working so don't expect too much conversation. And don't touch anything."

Vi stepped in and scoffed, "Hank, I'm not an idiot. I've known you for like 6 years, plus you were my science teacher for some of that time, so I know all about how to act in your lab."

"Well I don't really know you yet, so I don't trust you with my lab," Hank replied as he returned to looking into his microscope.

"Fair enough" Vi shrugged before she began to look around the room. Hank occasionally glanced at her nervously out of the corner of his eye.

She stopped at the large metal table at the other end of the room and her eyes widened, "Holy shit, Hank". Hank looked up and headed to where Vi was standing once he realized what she was referring to.

He cleared his throat, "It started with Alex and Sean. I needed something to attach their equipment to. Then I realized that even with all of the training, we would still need protection..."

"Can I...?" Vi gestured to the mass of blue and yellow fabric on the table.

Hank gave her a nod. She ran a hand over the rough fabric of one of the suits, Alex's, judging from the hole in the chest, then picked it up to look at the whole thing, "Damn, it's heavy. Kevlar?"

"Among other things"

"How many do you have done?," Vi asked as she inspected the suit closely.

"Mine, Raven's, Charles', and Erik's. Alex and Sean's are done aside from attaching the equipment. I still have to finish yours and Moira's," Hank told her, sounding slightly overwhelmed.

"Wait, did you just say...you're making one of these for me?" Vi set the suit down and looked at him, not knowing how to feel.

Hank rubbed the back of his neck, "Yes. Raven suggested it actually. The design is similar to the one you have now, so hopefully you'll like it."

Vi smiled at him, "Of course I will. You've never done wrong with my uniforms. Thank you, Hank"

Hank smiled back nervously.

"I have one question though. How did you get my measurements to make the suit?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Raven helped with that. With everyone's, actually."

"So Raven turned into each of us so you could take the measurements?" Vi suppressed a laugh.

"These were meant to be a surprise, so yes," He shrugged.

"Well I figured that much since pretty much all of them wouldn't be caught dead wearing bright yellow. Alex especially. Is that why you picked it?"

Hank gave a small smile, "Maybe."


	8. Team Bonding In A Filler Episode

_October 22nd, 1962_

"Great work today, all of you. You've improved so much in such a short time. I am incredibly proud," Charles told the exhausted young mutants with a grin.

"Does that mean we get a break?," Raven asked hopefully.

Charles chuckled, "Yes, you get a break. You have the remainder of the day to rest. We will resume training tomorrow." Erik and Moira headed toward the mansion with Charles, leaving the younger mutants standing outside in the sun.

Raven looked like she was going to explode from excitement, "I know just what we can do!"

Vi picked at the black bathing suit that Raven had lent her. The fit wasn't exactly right in some places but she couldn't complain.

"Stop it. You look fine," Raven wore a deep blue two piece that accentuated everything. Vi may have looked 'fine' but Raven looked gorgeous, though nowhere near as stunning as her true form. "I think Sean's going to like it a lot," Raven said nonchalantly as she checked herself out in the mirror.

"Huh?" Vi dropped her hands and abandoned adjusting her suit.

"Nothing. You two just seem friendly is all" Raven adjusted her hair one more time before turning to the other girl.

"Because we're friends. Well, if you can call someone you've only known for two weeks a friend." Vi shrugged. Raven's smug smile made her even more bothered. "If you wanna go with the whole friendly thing, let's talk about you and Hank..."

Raven's face dropped. "Forget I ever said anything. Now come on, we have to meet the boys," She grabbed her towel before pulling Vi along downstairs and out of one of the back doors.

Hank saw the girls first, blushing a deep red because of Raven. Sean wolf whistled, but Alex didn't seem to care.

"Let's go," said Raven cheerfully.

The group headed across the lush grass of the grounds and through the trees.

Sean caught up to Vi and walked next to her. "So, where were you last night?"

"I was in the lab with Hank mostly. Why?"

Sean's shoulders dropped slightly, "I, uh, I stayed up because I thought you might show."

"Oh. Well, I didn't want to bug you again so soon."

Sean stopped and lightly placed his hand on her arm, "Hey, you're free to 'bug' me anytime, okay?"

The corner of Vi's mouth turned up an almost unnoticeable way, "I'll keep that in mind."

Sean smiled back at her.

"Come on, guys!" Raven called to them, making them realize how behind they were. She saw Raven wink at her before facing forward again.

The pair quickly caught up to the other three. Soon, right in front of them appeared a crystal clear spring lined with plenty of large rocks sitting and sunbathing. It was a lot nicer than the one Charles had been taking her to to train and very familiar.

"Ah, I'm gonna have a lot of fun times here in a few decades," Vi thought back to the times when she would sneak out there with Kitty, Rogue, Bobby, and John in the middle of the night.

"How deep is it?," asked Sean, bringing her thoughts back to the present.

Raven answered, "Deep enough to dive in."

Sean grinned, "That was all I needed to hear". The red head ran and jumped into the water, making a huge splash.

Vi jumped next, laughing as she landed a few feet away from Sean and caused another splash. Alex just walked in. Raven and Hank sat on a rock together, planning to stay away from the water.

"Come on guys, the water's great," Sean told them as he waded.

"Maybe in a little while," Raven replied. "I'd like to get some sun."

"I'll stay with Raven," Hank said quietly.

"You guys are no fun" Vi looked over to Sean and moved her hand slightly, causing a stream of water to hit him square in the face. A few feet away, Alex chuckled.

"Was that a challenge?," Sean sputtered before using both arms to splash her back full force.

For a while they splashed each other and giggled, thoroughly annoying Raven and Hank. Alex was ignoring everyone the best he could in his own little corner of the water.

"Okay, you win. I need a break or else my arms are going to fall off," Sean was breathless from all the laughing.

"You're such a wimp." Vi lightly splashed him one more time.

Sean shook his head with a laugh and went to rest on one of the rocks. Over at the other edge, Vi saw Alex scrutinizing something among the smaller rocks. Curious, she swam over. Within about five feet of him the water was quite hot due to his powers, but it didn't bother her.

"Whatcha looking at?", she asked, stopping next to him.

"Rocks," He picked up a smooth one and handed it to her.

"Are you one of those people that had a rock collection as a kid? Did little Alex want to be a geologist?," Vi chuckled, inspecting the rock. She had to admit that it was pretty nice.

The corner of Alex's mouth turned up slightly, "Something like that."

Suddenly there was a huge splash. The pair turned around to see Raven and Hank in the water with Sean laughing hysterically and standing where they had been sitting moments before.

"SEAN!," Raven shrieked. Hank still looked shocked to be in the water.

Vi and Alex snickered at them quietly.


	9. The Night Before

_October 24th, 1962_

" _It shall be the_ _policy_ _of this nation to regard any nuclear missile crossing the embargo line that surrounds Cuba as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union..."_

Erik gestured to the television, "That's where we're going to find Shaw."

"How do you know?" asked Alex.

"Two superpowers facing off and he wants to start World War III. He won't leave anything to chance," Charles sounded grim.

"So much for diplomacy. I suggest you all get a good night's sleep," Erik told the group.

* * *

After the sun set, the younger mutants sat on the floor in Raven's room. One of her Elvis records played softly in the background as they passed around a bottle of Charles' whiskey that she had stashed in her room long ago.

Alex handed the bottle to Vi and she took a drink before handing it over to Raven.

"What are you guys planning to do when this is over?," the blonde asked the group.

"That's assuming we win," Hank hesitantly took a drink of the liquid after Raven gave it to him, coughing as it went down.

"Not sure if you've noticed but I'm living proof that we win," Vi rested her chin on her hands.

"Whether we all live through it is a different story," Alex mumbled. Everyone turned towards him.

"You guys are a real buzzkill," Sean chuckled. "You're right though. She only mentioned knowing Raven, Hank, Charles, and Erik. Me, you, and Moira could totally die tomorrow."

"Who's the buzzkill now? Besides, me being involved could change things," Vi shrugged.

"Yes, in theory we could lose simply because you're there," Hank interjected. "But none of us truly know how time travel works. There are so many possibilities," he added quickly.

"Well if things do change and we don't make it tomorrow, I'm grateful that I get to spend tonight with you all," Raven blushed a little at her confession.

The others agreed, making her much less nervous. Sean drank from the bottle once it made its way back to him, "Let's make it a good one."

* * *

"You destroyed a statue?" Vi asked Alex incredulously. Her accent had began to slip due to the alcohol but she hadn't noticed.

"Yeah," the blond replied, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"That's _so cool_ ," she grinned. Alex chuckled quietly. Alcohol didn't do much to help his control issue so he was the most sober one there, but that meant he got to witness them being fools, which he seemed to be enjoying thoroughly.

"But I broke a window. A government window. And it was a biiiig one," Sean interjected, a cigarette in his mouth and his head resting in her lap. He had assumed that position about half an hour before, but she didn't mention it. His voice had started to sound different which puzzled Vi in her slightly tipsy state.

Vi looked down to Sean, who was staring up at her expectantly, "Yeah but he destroyed a government _statue_."

Sean mumbled something inaudible but unmistakably annoyed. Vi laughed and patted his cheek lightly, "You're still a badass, Banshee."

He grinned the best he could around the cigarette, "Finally! Someone sees it!"

"You're also a giant dork."

Sean considered this for a moment, "I'll take it."

"Why are your voices so weird?," Raven finally spoke up from her spot where she had rested her head on a sleeping Hank's shoulder. Vi and Sean turned to her, genuinely confused.

"Huh?"

"What?"

"You guys…don't sound right," the blonde girl whispered.

"Your accents," Alex explained after they exchanged another questioning look.

"Ohhh," Sean replied then smiled. "I'm Irish."

After a moment, Vi ruffled his orange curls, "Makes sense. But you'd think you'd hold your alcohol better."

"That…is a stereotype and I refuse to acknowledge it," Sean mocked offense, trying to hold back a giggle.

Vi snorted then turned to Raven. "My mother was German. The accent and language really rubbed off, I guess," she said with a shrug.

"Vi's not a very German name," Alex pointed out, not that he particularly cared.

Vi snorted, "It's not my real name."

"Wait, what's your real name?" Sean frowned.

"I'm not _that_ drunk, Cassidy." She chuckled.

Alex looked over to the two sleeping mutants, then back to Sean and Vi. "We should probably go to bed."

Sean turned his head to face him, "Oh come on man. It's not that late."

"It's 10:30, Sean," Alex sighed.

Vi shrugged, gesturing for Sean to move, "He's right. We're already going to be hungover a little bit...or a lotta bit. No sleep will make that worse."

"Ugh, you guys are killing me," Sean groaned.

"Well," Vi stood up and offered him a hand, "it's either us killing you now, or Tornado Guy or someone else actually killing you tomorrow because you didn't sleep."

He took her hand and pulled himself up, "You're no fun."

* * *

 _Knock knock knock_

Vi's eyes snapped open. She quickly turned on the lamp checked the clock on the bedside table. 2:47 A.M. Who would be knocking on her door this late? She sat up and rubbed at her temples. It would obviously not be fun in the morning. Well, a few hours.

"It's open! I can't guarantee I won't kill you for waking me up though." It was Raven that opened the door, her eyes rimmed with red. Vi frowned, "Raven? Why are you up?"

"I need…I need someone to t-talk to." Her voice was cracking badly.

Vi patted the spot next to her and Raven closed the door before sitting there.

"Hank said I'm not beautiful," Raven sniffled and wiped the new tears away with the sleeve of her robe.

Vi's raised her eyebrows, "He said what?"

"He said that we'll never be accepted for who we really are. That we'll never be deemed beautiful."

"That's a fucking lie, Raven. Okay, not everyone accepts mutants, not even in my time, but that does not mean that you're not beautiful."

"You haven't even seen what I really look like," Raven whispered.

"I'm from the future, remember? I've seen you." Vi took a deep breath, "The first time I ever saw you was when you saved me and other students from this mutant hating asshole. You know what I thought at that moment? Your grace, the way you held yourself, the way you fought, everything about you. You were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life. You still are honestly," Vi confessed, the memory of this helping the anger at Hank subside. "Don't let what Hank said make you feel like you're any less than amazing."

Raven sobbed and threw her arms around Vi's shoulders. Vi hugged her back a little.

"Thank you. Thank you so much," the blonde mumbled into her neck.


	10. Aftermath

_October 25th, 1962_

Vi sunk lower into the plastic chair and sighed. Hank and Moira were with Charles and Alex was with Sean, so she had been all alone for a few hours. She hated hospitals. All of the blindingly white surfaces, and that smell of sickness that was common in all of them. The steady noise of beeping monitors and the steps of the nurses had begun to get on her nerves. A few of them had tried to treat her, but she shrugged them off. Sure, her whole body hurt, especially her wrist, but she could wait.

She was debating on going outside when suddenly someone threw themselves on the chair next to her. "Ow, these things are hard!," Sean exclaimed. Alex rolled his eyes as he sat down across from them.

"So what's the damage?" Vi asked him quietly.

"Couple cracked ribs, some bruises, and a sprained ankle," he shrugged.

Vi nodded and turned to Alex, "What about you?"

"Nothing serious. Have you heard anything about Charles?"

"Nothing. I haven't seen Hank or Moira at all."

Alex nodded curtly, then the three of them sat in silence for awhile, not wanting to talk anymore about the events of the day. For the first time since they arrived, Vi wondered how the team looked to the staff. They were all injured and wearing matching yellow and blue jumpsuits, not to mention that one of them was blue and furry. The CIA was going to have a hell of time covering this up.

Sean looked over to Vi and nudged her arm to get her attention. The movement cause a spike of pain to shoot up from her wrist and she cried out.

His eyes widened, "You're hurt?!"

Vi turned to find a guilty expression on his face, "I'm fine. Don't worry about it, okay?"

Sean's guilty face turned to a small frown, "Why didn't you get checked out?"

"I didn't think it was important." Vi ran her other hand through her hair.

Tired of their conversation, Alex sighed and leaned forward to grab her wrist. She thought about pulling away but knew it would hurt more if she did. Instead she tensed as he pulled off her glove and pushed up the sleeve of her jacket to reveal her swollen and purple wrist. Alex examined it gently before placing it back on her leg.

"You need a doctor." Alex said matter of factly before settling back into his chair.

"Fuck," Vi leaned her head back against the wall.

"I'm going to call for a nurse," Sean said.

"No," she groaned.

"If you don't get your wrist looked at right now, I'm going to annoy you until we leave. Maybe even after," the redhead threatened.

Vi gave a humorless chuckle, "So you're going to be your normal self then?" Alex snorted, causing Sean to give him a glare.

"I'm serious."

She turned to him, "If I go, you'll shut the fuck up?"

"Yeah."

"Fine," Vi sighed. Sean didn't deserve the harsh treatment, but being an ass was her natural response when in pain. She waved over a nurse who helped her up and walked her back to the exam rooms.

* * *

The jet hummed as they sped through the air towards Westchester. Thankfully, Vi had been able to keep Riptide from completely destroying the jet, so it was still able to fly. After the doctor released her, Hank finally arrived to take them all back to the mansion. Moira volunteered to stay with Charles, who was stable but unable to be moved yet. Vi poked at the bulky cast that had been put on her arm and sighed

"If they hadn't put that cast on, your wrist would have healed incorrectly. It most likely would have needed to be operated on." Hank pointed out from the the seat next to her as he flew the jet. Sean and Alex fell asleep half an hour earlier so she moved to the copilot seat.

"Yeah, I know. But that doesn't mean I have to like it." Vi huffed and leaned her head back against the headrest.

"I have a question," Hank mumbled.

"I might have an answer."

"Did you know that this was going to happen to me?"

Vi thought for a moment. "If I say yes, will you strangle me to death?". He didn't answer her so she turned to him with a sigh, "Yes, I knew," she noticed Hank's grip on the controls tighten. "In 50 years you're still furry and blue. Except that the Hank McCoy I know is proud of how he looks. He's proud of being a mutant. Besides, it was destined to happen. I couldn't change it,"

After a moment, his grip began to go back to normal and he kept silent all the way to the mansion.

* * *

Vi stood under the stream of hot water scrubbed her good hand down her face. She had been in the shower for about half an hour and the sand still wouldn't come off completely. Having one arm wrapped in a cast and covered in a plastic bag didn't really help with that either.

She finally gave up and turned off the water. After drying off, she put on her pajamas. She looked at her bed but she wasn't quite sure if she was ready to sleep. Her mind was still racing and she thought the others might feel the same.

Vi slowly opened her door and stepped out into the dark hallway. She walked a few steps until she met Sean's door and knocked. After a few seconds of silence, she assumed he was asleep and turned to head back to her room.

The sound of a creaking door interrupted her. Sean poked his head out of Alex's door, "Looking for me?"

"Yeah."

He nodded his head towards the inside of the room, "Come on in."

Vi walked over and brushed past him into Alex's room. It was extremely neat, the exact opposite of Sean's room. Considering he had been in prison before all of this it wasn't much of a surprise. Alex sat on the floor with his back against the footboard of the bed.

"Looks like I'm late to the party," Vi remarked as she sat across from the blond.

"Not much of a party," he said, handing her a bottle of scotch.

Vi examined the bottle, "Did you steal this from Charles' stash?"

Sean sat down next to her, "Yep, you wouldn't believe how much stuff he has in there. He won't miss it."

"Oh I know his collection well," Vi smirked before taking a drink and passing it to Sean. "Hank didn't want to come?"

"He's working on the jet," Alex answered.

Vi nodded slowly and played with her hands.

Sean broke the silence after he took his drink, "This feels wrong."

Vi turned her eyes down to the carpet and Alex sighed.

"This time yesterday everything was fine. Now Raven and Erik are gone and Charles..." he trailed off and ran a hand through his curls. "How did everything go to hell so fast?"

"I don't know," Vi sighed.

"So what do we do now?" he whispered.

"Well...someone's going to have to fight Magneto and the rest when they go all 'kill all humans'. And they will". She didn't mind being against everyone else in the Brotherhood, but the thought of fighting Raven after all of this made her uneasy. "It might be hard for you, fighting people you know and care about, but we're the only ones who can do it."

Alex finally spoke up, "Just the three of us and Hank? That won't be enough. And Charles might not be up for this either."

"He will. I think we can do it. We just have to train even harder than we have been". Vi looked to both of the boys, "What do you say?"

Sean thought for a moment, "I'm in."

Alex finally replied, "Me too."


	11. Mind Wipes and Christmas Miracles

_December 18th, 1962_

"Time for a break, boys!"

"Finally," Sean struggled as Alex let him up from the gym floor. The blond had been thoroughly kicking his ass, just like the last few months. Vi could see that he had been working on the anger issue and improving and it made her a little proud. She realized that was probably how Scott and Storm felt about her in her earlier days.

"It could be worse, Cassidy. You could be sparring with me, but unfortunately..." she raised her still casted wrist "...I can't really do it yet."

"Yeah, 'unfortunately'," Sean mumbled as he walked over to grab his water and threw the other to Alex.

"I heard that. You should look forward to it coming off in a few days," Vi smirked before something caught her eye outside. Moira and Charles were on the path sharing a kiss. She went to turn away before she saw Charles press his fingers to his temple. Her face fell as she watched.

She turned back to Sean and Alex as they recovered from training, "You guys keep resting. I need to go talk to Charles."

Sean frowned as she pushed past the two of them and left the gym. "What's up with that? Not that I'm complaining about the longer break..."

Alex shrugged, "Hell if I know"

* * *

Charles rolled towards his open study to find Vi leaning against his desk. He smiled at her "Vi, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Where's Moira?" Vi asked, barely keeping the accusing tone out of her voice.

He cleared his throat as he moved behind the desk. "She is needed at the C.I.A. so she decided to leave."

"Was that before or after you used your powers on her?"

Charles raised his eyebrows, "Excuse me?"

"I saw you outside. When you kissed her you did the finger thing," Vi touched her temple to illustrate her point.

He sighed deeply, "I care for Moira and it's not something I wanted to do, but it was necessary. If humans find out about us now, it could ruin everything that we're trying to build."

"She wouldn't have said anything."

"I'm aware of that. It was for her own safety. As I'm sure you know, the government will resort to horrible things when it comes to mutants."

Vi couldn't deny that, but what Charles had done was still unsettling. She hadn't liked Moira in the beginning because of her occupation, but after Cuba she started to warm up to the agent. "You should have let her make her own choice. Instead you played with her mind without her consent."

Charles pinched the bridge of his nose, "You don't understand."

Vi stood up, "You know? You're right. I don't understand. I don't understand how you become the Professor Xavier I know. Maybe you just grow up. Maybe he was always like you but he learned how to hide it from everyone."

"Just listen to me," Charles sighed.

"I don't want to hear it, Charles. Have fun explaining this to the others," Vi shook her head and left the office.

* * *

Later that night, Sean knocked on Vi's door. He got no answer and knocked again. Usually by now she would have either invited him in or threatened to kick his ass for waking her up, so he found the silence odd. After a few seconds, he opened her door a little, "Vi?"

Sean turned on the light and heard a groan from her bed. She was sitting up against the headboard with a half full bottle of scotch in her uninjured hand. He ventured further in and whispered, "Are you okay?"

"Peachy," she replied before taking a swig. Her cheeks were stained with tears, but he decided not to acknowledge it. Even only knowing her for a short time, he knew one thing for sure, it would make her more uncomfortable than anything else.

"Hey, you should probably go easy on that," Sean suggested as he reached for the bottle.

She moved it away, "No."

The red head raised his hands in surrender and turned to leave, "Okay, okay. I'll just leave you to it."

Vi reached out for him with her casted arm, "No, wait."

Sean looked down at her hand then back to her and sat on the edge of her bed hesitantly.

She shifted to sit next to him. "Do you...do you believe in God?" she asked quietly before taking another drink. It wasn't something she would usually ask someone or care about at all but this was different, she needed assurance. Plus, the alcohol in her system had decreased her boundaries significantly.

"Yeah. Raised Irish Catholic, if you couldn't guess."

Vi nodded slowly, "I'm Jewish, but haven't practiced in a long time. I just stopped believing, but lately..." She chewed on her lip for a moment and drank again, "What if all of this...what if I'm being...punished?"

Sean ran a hand through his hair and considered this, also wondering if she was even sober enough to understand, "I think you were sent here for something. That exact something might not be clear right now, but it will be eventually."

Vi scoffed, "Hopefully whatever this is is worth it. Y'know..., I started thinking it would be okay, then Charles did _that_. It made sense, it'll keep her safe, but losing people sucks."

He placed a hand on her shoulder hoping that would provide some comfort, "I know. But you're not alone. You're one of us. We're all here, and we're not going anywhere."

Vi hiccuped quietly before whispering, "Thanks."

Sean removed his hand and placed it on his knee as she took another drink, "You going to be okay?"

She glanced at the bottle and looked back up to him, "I...uh...I don't know." As she stared at him, a thought entered her mind and she tilted her head slightly. Sean went to speak again until he heard the clink of the bottle on the nightstand and found her lips silencing him. She reached up to tangle her fingers into his hair before kissing him even harder.

Since it was so sudden, Sean had no idea what was happening or what to do. Sure, he had started to grow a litte closer to Vi over the past few months...

The taste of alcohol on her lips brought him back to reality and he pushed her away. "No."

Vi frowned a little, "You don't want to...?"

"No, you're drunk," Sean pointed out.

She leaned close to him again. "No, I'm not. I know what I want."

Sean stood up before she could try it again, "Okay, then talk to me when you're sober. In the meantime, I think you've had enough." He grabbed the bottle from the bedside table, much to Vi's annoyance. "Now lay down."

Vi grinned, "Oh! You changed your mind already!" She moved to lay on the bed and sprawled out, "Told you I wasn't drunk."

If it hadn't been such a serious moment, Sean would have laughed. Instead, he rolled his eyes and pulled the blanket out from under her so he could cover her with it. "Goodnight, Vi. I'm sure someone'll make coffee in the morning, because you're going to need it."

Sean turned to leave the room as Vi rolled herself up in the covers, "Thanks, Ron Weasley."

He turned right back, "Ron-?"

Vi had fallen fast asleep, her mouth hanging open and her hair covering her eyes. Sean shook his head before flipping off the light and leaving her room. He wondered how awkward breakfast would be the next morning.

* * *

 _December 24th, 1962_

"Have you seen all the snow outside?!"

Vi groaned into her pillow and threw the blanket over her head. They had trained hard that day and her body was still aching since her wrist had kept her from training for a good while. All she wanted was to take a nap in peace, but with Sean in the house, that was apparently too much to ask. From the outside, things had been pretty normal between them since that night. Vi, to Sean's surprise, apologized the next day and that was that. Except it wasn't. It seemed that kiss had awakened something and Vi had no idea how to deal with it. After all, the last person she had been interested in changed sides and sent her back in time. Romantic feelings had never been very good to her, to say the least.

"Did you hear me,Vi? There's so much snow. A real white Christmas, I can't believe it!" Sean exclaimed from the doorway.

"I heard you, and I don't care," Vi mumbled. A small part of her enjoyed Sean's glee, but she pushed it down. "And it's not Christmas yet, nerd."

"It's tomorrow, same thing. Come on, let's go have a snowball fight. We can call it training. Battlefield tactics or something."

Vi flipped the blanket down and looked at his eager face, "Great idea, Banshee. How about you go get Alex and Hank and _you_ guys do it? We already trained today."

"You know full well that Hank's not going to want to come." Sean smirked. "You just know you're going to lose.

"Oh no, you didn't just..."

"Oh, I did just," He crossed his arms and gave her grin.

Vi threw the blankets off fully, startling Sean. "You brought this on yourself, Cassidy," she jumped from the bed and pushed him out of the room. "Go get the other two and prepare yourselves."

* * *

"I was busy doing very important work and you decided to disturb me for a _snow ball fight_?," Hank exclaimed as Sean led him and Alex outside into the dark. Alex wasn't quite as reluctant as he was, though he looked a little uncomfortable.

"Don't be a kill joy, Hank. Work can wait," Sean told him as they stepped into the crunchy snow. The wind whipped and bit at his skin, making him shiver. He pulled his scarf tighter as he spotted Vi.

"Can't take the cold, Cassidy?!," she called from further out on the grounds, her arms crossed with a smirk. "Maybe you should go back inside and let the grown ups play."

"Very funny." As they made it to her, he fake laughed for emphasis, making her let out a genuine chuckle. "If only _someone_ here could turn off the wind."

She rolled her eyes and waved her hand to calm the wind before looking Alex up and down. All he had on over his t-shirt was his black leather jacket. "Aren't you cold, Alex?"

Alex removed his hand from his pocket and held it out. The snowflakes sizzled within an inch of reaching his skin. "Takes a lot to make me cold."

Sean tore his curious eyes from Alex's hand, "So, teams or solo?"

"Teams. Since you got me out of bed for this, I get to pick. Hank, you're with me," Vi clapped her hand on the blue man's shoulder. She turned around a led him a few yards away from where they were standing.

"Not fair. He's gonna melt all the snowballs," Sean grumbled as he and Alex turned to go in the opposite direction, the blond giving him a glare for the comment.

"30 minutes to build a fort and make ammo!" Vi called over to them.

* * *

Carefully balancing four mugs in her hands, Vi entered the living room. "I bring hot chocolate. With double marshmallows for Banshee."

"Yes!," Sean cheered from under the blanket he had taken from the back of the couch.

She slowly set all four on the newly replaced coffee table and handed them out before taking her own. "Move over, Cassidy," with a nudge to his legs, he relented. She moved close to him and wrapped part of the blanket around herself. He began to protest, but she cut him off with a look. "i could always take the whole thing."

The four mutants sipped at the hot chocolate before Sean spoke up, "This is really good."

"Thanks. My mom used to make this for me a lot. It's like a family recipe," the corners of her mouth twitched into a quick smile. "Think of it as your prize for being the winner today. You won't be so lucky next time, though."

"The real prize was getting to hit you square in the face with a snowball," Sean snickered. She elbowed him in the side playfully, almost making him spill his hot chocolate.

Hank stood up from his seat, "Thank you for the drink, but I need to get back to the lab."

Vi held in a sigh, "Okay, Hank. It was nice hanging out with you today."

"Yes," Hank cleared his throat as he left the room.

Alex watched him until he was out of sight, "That went well."

Vi shook her head before taking another sip of her drink.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

All three looked up at the same time.

"We expecting anyone?" Sean asked.

"Don't think so. I'll get it," she stood up and set her mug down on the table.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

"Coming!" Vi yelled as she hurried down the hall to the front door and flung it open. On the porch stood a gorgeous man who didn't look to be phased at all by the cold. He seemed familiar to her but she couldn't quite place him. "I...uh...you're naked," she stammered out, completely missing the question she meant to ask.

"It'd be hard not to notice that," the man shrugged. "Charles Xavier lives here, right?"

She cleared her throat awkwardly and hoped she could manage to speak right this time, "Yeah he does, but who are you exactly?"

"My name's Darwin."

Vi's eyes widened, "Darwin?". She motioned him inside and closed the door. " _The_ Darwin?"

"Just Darwin," he smiled kindly at her before looking around the house "What about you? New addition?"

"You could say that," she shrugged. Suddenly it hit her. The dark, caring eyes. The warm smile. She had met him before, many decades in the future. But he hadn't changed a bit..."I...I'll let the others know you're here and get you some clothes-"

"Who is it?" Alex asked as he and Sean entered, before stopping dead in his tracks.

"Holy shit," Sean whispered with wide eyes.

"Alex." Darwin smiled, not quite the kind smile he gave her, but a relieved one. A happy one.

The blond boy stayed frozen in place until Charles' voice came from the other side of the room, "Darwin. How good to see you again. It seems we have things to discuss."

* * *

Darwin sat on the couch, now clothed, "I've been gone for almost three months?"

"Yeah," Sean replied from his spot in the arm chair across from him. "A lot's changed."

"And I missed fighting Shaw?"

"Yep," Vi answered, leaning against the wall. "He's super dead."

Charles gave her a warning look and turned back to Darwin, "And you don't remember anything?"

"All I remember was the heat, reaching out to Alex, then everything went black," Alex shuffled uncomfortably in his seat on the other side of the couch and gripped the arm rest tightly. He hadn't taken his eyes off of Darwin since he arrived. "Suddenly, I was lying on the grass in the exact same place like nothing happened. It only felt like seconds."

"The best explanation as of now is that your mutation saved you, adapting you beyond your physical form to survive the explosion, then changing you back once you were safe," Charles explained.

"But three months?"

Hank cleared his throat, "The process must not be instantaneous. I'd like to do some tests if-"

"He just got back, give him some time to process," Vi gave the scientist the sternest look she could muster.

Hank glanced at her, "I'm happy that you're back, Darwin, but if you'll excuse me, I need to return to the lab."

Darwin gave him a nod and he left the room.

"I am afraid I must take my leave as well. I was in the midst of finding potential students in Cerebro when you arrived," Charles maneuvered his chair so he could exit. "I am very glad that you're with us again, my friend." and with that he left.

"Wait, students? And I thought Cerebro was destroyed," Darwin looked between the remaining three, eyes lingering on the blond.

"Hank rebuilt it under the house after Alex and I cleared it out. He just finished it a few days ago," Vi explained as she sat down in the other armchair near him. "As for the students, we're turning this place into a school for mutants."

"I see," he looked around the room before his eyes landed back on her. "So you never told me who you are or where you came from."

"My name's Vi. As for the second, it's kind of hard to explain,"

Darwin leaned forward and smiled, "Try me"

She cleared her throat awkwardly, "I'm from the future. 2012."

He raised his eyebrows, "Wow, not what I was expecting."

Vi opened her mouth to reply until she noticed the fabric of the couch turning black under Alex's hand and the way his eyes were burning into her, "Uh...hey, Banshee. Remember the the thing we had to do? The really important thing for Hank?"

Sean frowned, "No, I-"

"Yeah, you do. Come on!" She jumped up from her seat, yanked him out of his, and lead him out of the room before he could protest. "It was nice meeting you, Darwin!"

Once in the hall, he shook her hand off of his arm, "What was all that about? What thing for Hank?"

"Alex was obviously wanting to talk to Darwin alone, which is understandable after everything that happened," Vi pointed out. "I'm kind of embarrassed about how long it took me to realize that Alex wanted us out."

"Well if it makes you feel better, I didn't notice at all," Sean smiled. "Hey, you hungry?"

"I could eat".

The pair made their way through the halls towards the kitchen as the clock on the wall caught Vi's eye. "Hey, it's midnight. Merry Christmas," She told him with a smile.

"Happy Hannukah. Now let's go raid the kitchen."

* * *

Emma sauntered into Erik's room to find him standing in the center. "I can feel him. They rebuilt that machine and now he's recruiting."

Erik didn't answer for a moment and Emma assumed he hadn't been listening. He turned to her, masking his reaction to news of his former team mates, "If they're building an army, then we must do the same."

Emma gave him a dazzling smile, "I may be able to help with that."


	12. Vague Visions

_March 18th, 1963_

"Charles tell you guys what he wanted?" Vi asked Sean, Alex, and Darwin as the met her in the hall.

"Something about picking up students," Darwin replied before they headed to the Charles' office. The door was open, so they all filed in.

Sean was first to speak, "So you found more students?" Over the past few months, they had brought in 7 students in total. The school wasn't exactly official yet, but some of the kids were living on the street, or had parents who weren't prepared for a teen that could blow a building down or wither things with a touch.

Charles looked up and smiled "Two. The first is Alison Blaire of Long Island. She has the ability to convert sound into light."

"Wait," Vi interjected. "Did you just say Alison Blaire?"

"Yes, I-"

Her eyes lit up and she grinned. "She's a famous disco singer in the future."

"Disco?" Sean asked.

"You've got another decade."

Charles cleared his throat, "If you're quite finished, the second is a young man who lives in Greece named Dominikos Petrakis. He can generate seismic waves powerful enough to cause massive earthquakes."

"That's so cool," Sean exclaimed.

"Yes, now Darwin and Sean, I would like you to visit Mr. Petrakis. Hank will be flying you in the jet. Alex and I will take care of Ms. Blaire. I still need to speak with her parents in more detail. Vi, I need you to stay here and watch over the children."

Vi crossed her arms over her chest."You're joking."

"Here we go." Alex grumbled. Everytime a new mutant was found, she would have the same argument with Charles.

"Gentlemen, if you would give us a moment." The other three mutants filed out of the room and Darwin closed the door behind them.

"You said I could go this time, remember?" Charles had been keeping her from the recruitment missions, partly because of her unfamiliarity with the era, but also because she would stick out more than the others.

Charles sighed and rubbed his temples, "I did, but things have changed."

"What do you mean, Charles?"

"I've felt Emma Frost's mind while using Cerebro and I have reason to believe that they are planning an attack."

Vi straightened up and dropped her arms. "An attack?"

"Yes, I'm not sure about when, but-"

"If there's risk of an attack, then why are you sending everyone away except for me?" Vi felt anger begin to bubble beneath the surface, and she was sure that Charles could feel it too. How could he think that leaving the kids so under protected would be a good idea?

"Because we still need to help these children!" Charles held up the files of the two new recruits. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly to continue in a softer tone. "I feel that you are the most well equipped to handle a direct attack on the mansion if they take this chance to strike, so you're the best choice to stay behind."

Vi chewed on her lip as she considered this. "If something bad happens, it's on you."

* * *

"We're watching the Monday night movie!" David insisted, turning the dial on the television.

"But I wanna watch The Lucy Show!" Laurie pouted.

Vi stood in the doorway watching the scene, several bowls of popcorn in her arms. A few of other students stood divided behind David and Laurie as they fought over what to watch "Some things never change."

David heard this and his head snapped up, "Miss, can you help us settle this?"

As she made her way over to the couch and set the popcorn bowls down on the table, she shrugged, "99% of the TV in this time sucks so I really don't care. I'm just waiting for Star Trek."

"What's a Star Trek?" Laurie asked. She looked back at Josh, who merely shrugged.

"You'll understand when you're older." Vi spun around and yelled towards the living room door "Need help with the drinks, Noriko?!"

The blue haired girl entered as if on cue, awkwardly carrying bottles of Coke with her gauntlet covered arms. "No." Ruth trailed behind her, the remaining bottles in her hands.

"Alright." She turned to the other students who were still bickering. "We're watching the movie. Whatever it is."

Laurie and the students behind her groaned. The kids grabbed their drinks and the bowls of popcorn to share before they got comfortable on the couches and floor.

* * *

Vi woke up on the couch to find that the TV had been turned off and that the students had mostly fallen asleep as well. She didn't see David, so she assumed he had turned the television off and left them to sleep. Laurie sat cuddled into Vi, her head resting on her shoulder and her golden hair covering her features. A small smile appeared on Vi's face at all the teens sleeping peacefully until Ruth startled her. She was the only one still awake, or so it seemed, as she was sitting straight up.

"It's coming. Yes. Thank you." The girl whispered.

Fear filled Vi as she grabbed Ruth's shoulder, a little rougher than she intended to "What's coming?"

"The Angel and the Devil. No. The Queen. Pardon."

"Ruth, tell me what you see." Her eye stayed locked on the girl until the sound of the jet returning made her turn her head. "Are they okay?"

When the girl didn't answer, Vi stood, careful to move Laurie off of her first. She rushed out of the room and down the hall to the door that would take her to the jet. Flinging the door open, she entered the corridor and rushed to the last door, which opened up in front of her.

Darwin, Hank, and Sean stopped in their tracks at the sight of her entering the room. "Wow, you must have really missed us."

She breathed a sigh of relief, "Not exactly. Ruth had a vision." Vi frowned and looked behind them. "Where's Dominikos?"

"He declined our offer," Hank explained.

Sean scoffed and crossed his arms, "'Declined' makes it sound like he did it nicely."

Darwin held his hands up, "Wait, wait a second. You said Ruth had a vision. What was it about? It must have been bad to have you that concerned."

"She didn't say, but I may have an idea."

* * *

"'It's coming'? That doesn't sound ominous at all." Sean spoke as he fell into one of the chairs in Charles' office. Charles and Alex had gotten back not long after the others, so Vi explained what happened.

"Ruth mentioned 'the Angel, the Devil, and the Queen'. Sounds a lot like Angel, Azazel, and Emma to me." She turned to Charles. "You said earlier that they're planning an attack. That could be the _it_."

Alex chimed in, "Why wouldn't she mention Magneto? He would be the one leading them."

"That's what I was wondering. Why those three?" Vi thought it possible that Erik and Raven didn't _want_ to fight them directly after everything that they had been through, but that was giving Erik too much credit in her eyes.

Charles sighed and rubbed his temples. "I believe the best course of action is to carry on as we have been. There are still children out there that need our help. _But_ we must use caution. Hank, if you could work on upgrading our security..."

"Of course," Hank rumbled before taking his leave.

"And we'll double down on the training. Whether they attack here or somewhere else, we need to be ready." Vi looked around at her teammates and they nodded in confirmation. "The students should have more training, too. If anything does happen, they need to be able to defend themselves."

Charles gave her a nod, "Alright, but do keep in mind that this is a school, not a bootcamp."

Alex smirked, "I'll make sure she doesn't work them too hard."

"What am I to you guys? Some kind of drill sargeant?" Vi scoffed in annoyance.

Sean visibly struggled to hold back a laugh.

"That's 1,000 push-ups for you tomorrow, Cassidy." She turned and headed towards the door, hiding her sly smile.

Darwin patted Seans shoulder as it dawned on him. "Sorry, man."

"Have fun," Alex teased as he and Darwin left the office.

Charles watched Sean exit as well before grabbing his bottle of brandy and a glass. It was moments like these that made him wonder how he was going to run a school when the teachers were practically kids as well.

* * *

 _Crete, Greece. March 19th, 1963._

"I already told you people, I don't need your help." Dominikos had grown tired of being bothered and it showed in his tone.

"We're not with them." Emma slunk closer, leaving Raven standing behind her. "We're not here to treat you like a child, or a charity case."

"Then why _are_ you here?" He clenched his fists, readying himself in case the woman attacked.

She flashed him her sparkling smile. "To give you what you want. Revenge on every human that treated you like anything less than the god that you are."

After a short pause, Dominikos nodded. Emma's smile widened as she placed her hand on his shoulder and led him to their car, where Janos stood waiting.

"The world will belong to us, Dominikos."


	13. Alex the Love Guru

_A/N: The current younger mutants are:_

 _-David (Prodigy)_ 13

 _-Julian (Hellion)_ 15

 _-Noriko (Surge)_ 14

 _-Josh (Elixir)_ 13

 _-Sofia (Wind Dancer)_ 14

 _-Laurie (Wallflower)_ 14

 _-Kevin (Wither)_ 13

 _-Ruth (Blindfold)_ 12

 _-Allison (Dazzler)_ 16

 _ **May, 1963**_

The residents of Xavier's gathered on the grounds to watch as Sofia got her power lesson. The girl bowed her head, the eyes on her making her anxious. She wiped her palms on her dress as subtly as she could, jumping when Charles' soft voice filled her head.

 **Sofia, there is nothing to be afraid of.**

She glanced up, but tried to avoid Julian. Embarassing herself in front of her crush was the last thing she wanted to do. Instead she found Charles giving her an encouraging nod.

"It's just like we practiced. If you fall, I'll catch you. I promise." Sofia had been working with Vi to get a handle on her abilities as they shared a common power. It made her a little more confident, but she wasn't sure if it would be enough. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, focusing on the movement of the wind. It began to pick up speed, swirling around her body. She felt herself leave the ground and peeked, only to find herself a few feet from the grass, and getting higher. The group below her cheered and she grinned. "Now try to hold it!" Vi shouted over the wind.

Sofia concenrated on the speed of the wind, adjusting it to keep her from going any higher, but it died down too much and she began to fall. Vi took over from there and manipulated the breeze to gently set the girl down.

Sofia looked down again and sighed. "I failed."

"No, you didn't. Trust me." Vi squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.

"That was great, Sof!" Julian complimented.

Sofia smiled, a blush spreading across her cheeks, "Thanks."

"Excellent work today everyone. You're all dismissed," Charles announced, much to the joy of the students.

The teen rushed back to the mansion, the rest trailing behind. Sean walked beside Charles, hands shoved in his pockets. Vi caught up to him and nudged his shoulder, "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Sean breathed with a shrug.

"Cool. Let's go." She nodded her head in the direction of the training room.

Sean walked next to her in silence. He had asked her a few weeks before if they could train extra and she agreed. Sean knew he wasn't the best fighter, but the idea that she had drilled into everyone's heads was right. They needed to know how to defend themselves without their powers in case the need ever arose. Alex had teased him when he heard about Sean's request, though he maintained that the other mutant was wrong, that he really did just want training. He didn't often think about that drunken kiss months before, and he definitely didn't want to spend more time with her. Nope. Not at all.

A hand waved in front of Sean's face, bringing him back to the moment. "Earth to Banshee!"

"Huh?" Sean looked around to find that they were already in the training room, much to his surprise.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" An expression that Sean could almost read as _concerned_ appeared on her face.

He shrugged it off as he grabbed the tape. "Why wouldn't I be?'

"I don't know. You're acting weird. Well, weirder than usual."

"What a nice thing for you to say." Sean rolled his eyes, an amused smile on his lips.

"Weird's not always a bad thing." She reached out for him to hand her the tape. "Let me do that. You're not very good at it."

Sean didn't bother with a witty retort and tossed her the tape instead. She took his hand and began to wrap it with a gentleness that shocked him every time she did it. He noticed how her tongue peeked out from her lips in concentration, and the way that her fingers contrasted against his pale, freckled hands. He shook his head and focused his attention on the blank, but _very_ interesting, wall. Vi paused and raised an eyebrow at him before dropping his hands and moving to do her own. The way Sean had been acting lately had started to unnerve her a little. It reminded her of her conversation with Raven before Cuba, and the night that Moira left. She pushed that away and focused back on her hands.

As she finished up, she found Sean standing on the mat in the middle of the room opening and closing his fists to adjust to the tape. She met him there and fell into a familiar stance. Sean did as well, looking considerably less stiff and awkward than he did when they had started months before.

Sean made the first move, aiming a right hook directly at her face. She dodged it and kneed him in the stomach, which knocked the air right out of him. Sean rested his hands on his knees and attempted to get it back.

Usually, she was pretty hard on the others, though not at Erik's level, but she felt a slight pang of worry this time. "Are you o-?"

A sharp blow to her face took Vi by surprise, as did the feeling of her legs being knocked from under her, and her back hitting the mat. Above her stood Sean, the triumphant look on his face turning into one of pure panic. "You're bleeding! Shit!"

Slightly dazed, Vi sat up and brought her finger up to the warm, wet trail coming from her brow and examined the blood on it. Sean watched in silence, awaiting her reaction. She was probably going to hate him now. He'd have to move away so he wouldn't get beaten to a pulp. Change his name, dye his hair-

Instead, the sound of her laughter echoed through the room, making Sean frown at her in confusion. "Are you...laughing?"

She ignored his question and held her hand out. "I can't believe you hit me."

Sean took her hand and pulled her up, his brow still furrowed at the sight of her smiling in a moment like this.

Vi clapped his shoulder. "You fight dirty, Cassidy. I like it."

"Should we have Hank check that out?" He asked sheepishly.

"You want to stop now that we've struck gold? Hell no."

"And you say I'm the weird one." He mumbled under his breath.

They sparred for a while longer, with Vi showing him ways to improve his punch. Sean had actually managed to get a few more hits in despite his guilt in hurting her.

She knocked him back onto the mat and straddled his stomach as she held his hands over his head. "You're still kinda slow."

Sean sighed and looked away.

Noticing his reaction, she chewed on her lip. Lately, she'd been finding it more and more difficult to be hard on him. "You're doing really well though. I'm...impressed."

His eyes snapped back to her and saw the barely hidden bit of pride in the way she looked at him. He felt blood rush to his cheeks against his will and, despite the fact that he wasn't sure he could speak without making himself look like an idiot, broke the silence. "A compliment. That's rare."

Vi snorted "You make it sound like I'm a total asshole."

"You're not a _total_ asshole."

"Thanks."

"Am I interrupting something?" Both of them looked up to find Alex leaning against the doorway, a smug smile on his face.

Vi realized just how compromising their positon must have looked from the outside and shot up, with Sean following immediately after. "No. What's up?"

"Just letting you know dinner's ready." Alex glanced over at Sean, and in that moment, he knew that he wouldn't hear the end of this.

Sean cleared his throat, "Alright. We'll meet you there."

The pair watched as Alex pushed himself away from the door frame and stalked down the hallway. Vi began unwinding the tape from around her hand. "I'm pretty hungry, let's go."

"You don't have to tell me twice."

* * *

Alex and Sean sat together in the empty kitchen. All was quiet since the students had gone to bed several hours ago. Sean told Alex what had happened during training, and as he expected, Alex was enjoying it.

"I don't think punching a girl in the face is the best way to let her know that you like her." Alex stated matter-of-factly before taking a sip of his soda.

Sean sighed, "I don't like her. She's my friend. Like you or Darwin or Hank."

"Right." The smirk appeared on the blond's face again. He didn't really care about other people's relationships, but messing with his friend a little brought him a bit of satisfaction. Plus, the pining could get annoying at times, so if he could help Sean realize what he needed to do to make that stop, he would.

"She wasn't even mad that I punched her."

Alex barely held back a chuckle. "Probably because you're a wimp and she's actually starting to see some results."

He chose to ignore the comment as he poked the fork around his leftovers. "I wonder if all future girls are as freaky as her." Alex would have a field day if he told him about what happened between him and Vi all those months ago. Sean had managed to keep it to himself so far, but it was eating away at him. He rested his cheek against his hand and sighed. "She kissed me when she was drunk...and called me Ron Weasley. Who the hell is Ron Weasley?"

Alex raised an eyebrow, "She kissed you."

"Yeah. We were talking about Moira leaving and why she ended up here, then she just did it. She came onto me too, but she was drinking, and I'm not the kind of guy that takes advantage. Ever since that night, things have been different. I don't know..."

Alex finished off the rest of his drink and tossed the bottle in the trash. "Sean, all I'm going to say is that you should tell her how you feel. It'll tear you up inside if you don't."

Sean gaped at him, "Did Alex Summers just tell me to express my feelings? Darwin really _has_ changed you for the better."

Alex rolled his eyes and brushed past the ginger, "Whatever, man."

With that, Sean was alone. He dropped the fork onto his plate and rubbed his temples. Maybe, just maybe, Alex knew what he was talking about. He would tell Vi everything. Eventually.


	14. A Very Happy -30th Birthday

_**July, 1963**_

Today was the day, the one that Vi had been dreading for weeks. She was 20. Thankfully, the others didn't know when her birthday was, or else Darwin would have wanted to do something like she had done for their birthdays. She wasn't really up to it, not because she didn't appreciate the thought, but because the milestone had gotten her into a mood. The ache of missing her old life was easy to forget most days if she trained, or distracted herself with conversation. Today was different, because it was her birthday, and Kitty and Rogue and Bobby were 50 years away. There wouldn't be a gag gift, or a surprise party that she totally saw coming. Just her. Here.

The pencil scratched lightly across the paper as she tried to envision all of the lines and details, but they wouldn't quite come. It had been too long.

A knock at the door startled her, making her draw a line on accident. "Shit," she mumbled. "Who is it?"

"Sean."

She stared at the page for a moment before replying. "Come in."

Sean opened the door to find her scrubbing the eraser over her mistake. He shut it behind him, and fiddled nervously with the package in his hands. She didn't acknowledge him, so he came a little closer to her.

"Happy birthday." He said quietly.

Vi looked up at him in surprise. "How did you know?"

"Charles told us." He sat on the edge of the bed. "He also told us that you probably wouldn't want a party."

"He was right, so I hope you're not here for that."

"No, I..." Sean held up the package in his hands. "I got you something."

She raised her eyebrow and set down the sketchbook. Sean handed her the gift and she carefully took it. She slipped her finger under the pieces of tape and took it from the paper. It was the Beatles album Please Please Me. A small smile appeared on her face.

"You mentioned a few months ago that you liked The Beatles, and a friend of mine from school was telling me about the album. I convinced him to send me a copy."

Vi ran her fingers over the slip cover as she tried to blink away the tears that were threatening to come from her eyes. "Thank you. So much."

"It's no big deal." Sean rubbed his neck sheepishly. "I just...I know how hard this day must be for you."

"Yeah, tell me about it." She chuckled without humor. "I've been trying not to think about the fact that I'm never going home. Training until I'm worn down, barely sleeping. It was working pretty well until tonight. Now I'm another year older in a place I don't belong. And I'm..." She picked up the sketchbook to look at the drawing of Logan. It wasn't quite right, and she knew it. "I'm forgetting their faces, their voices, and I'm not going to see them until I'm fucking 70." The tears broke loose and she sobbed. Why did she have to do this in front of him?

As she tried to turn from him, Sean enveloped her in a hug. She froze for a moment and he began to think that he might have crossed a line. Before he could pull away, she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his neck. He felt her body shake with more sobs, and her tears soaked the shoulder of his shirt, but he didn't let go. He just rubbed her back gently until it subsided.

She eventually pulled away, and wiped at her puffy, red eyes with her sleeve. "This must be awkward for you."

Sean shrugged, "Not really." He figured it must be a lot more awkward for her, considering how guarded she usually was. He didn't feel awkward at all, but his heart ached at the sight of her breaking down like that. The sketchpad next to her caught his eye and he picked it up carefully before inspecting the drawing. "Maybe talking about them will help jog your memory, if you don't mind. This guy looks interesting. His hair does anyway" He gestured at the sketched Logan, who had a scowl on his face and a cigar in his mouth.

Vi smiled slightly, and took the pad from his hands. He moved to sit next to her and rest his back against the headboard. "His name's Logan. He was one of my teachers. He heals fast, and he has a metal skeleton and claws. He's all tough on the outside, but once you get to know him, he's a big softy."

"Sounds familiar."

She shook her head and flipped back one page, "This is Storm. It's probably pretty obvious what her mutation is. She reminds me a lot of my mom. Kind and compassionate, but if you hurt innocent people, she'd wreck you."

Sean recognized the name, but he wasn't immediately sure where from. "You've mentioned her before, I think. She taught you to control your powers, right?"

"She helped, yeah."

They went on like this for awhile, until she cast aside the drawings and began telling him stories about her friends.

"-so in retaliation, Kitty and I put Nair in his shampoo, and all of his hair fell out. Bobby was _pissed_ , but so was Rogue. She _really_ liked his hair. We got in a lot of trouble for that, but it was worth it."

Sean clutched his stomach, which hurt from the laughter. "I never knew you were into pranks. Remember when I suggested we team up? We could have gotten Alex a hundred times by now."

"You never pitched me any ideas, Cassidy." Vi snorted at the thought of how Alex would react to the good old pink hair dye prank. Now that would be a sight to see. She yawned, which made her realize how tired she really was. A look at the clock told her why. "It's 2."

"Really? Doesn't feel like it." He yawned too as he stretched his arms over his head.

"Says the guy who looks like he's about to fall asleep in my bed." She chuckled and nudged his shoulder. "I'm gonna hit the hay. I have to work with Sofi in the morning."

"Alright, I'll leave you to it." Sean stood up and headed to the door. "Goodnight."

"Hey," she called out. He turned to her and she smiled, "Thanks. For everything."

"Anytime."

With the click of the door, Vi was left alone again. This time, she didn't feel quite so broken

She turned off her lamp and burrowed into her covers. Her heart was still fluttering. Maybe Raven had been onto something that day, and maybe, deep down, she had realized that months ago.

But then she really thought about it. Pyro hadn't made her feel even close to the way that Sean had, and he managed to break her heart. What damage could Sean do?

She let out a shaky breath and scrubbed her hands over her face, "What am I gonna do?"

She couldn't go through that again, no matter what her heart was telling her.


	15. Cold Shoulder

September 30th, 1963

Darwin ran towards Vi, only for her to grab him and flip him down hard onto the mat, the skin on his back changing to protect him from the impact. She held her hand out and he used it to pull himself up.

She turned to the kids, "See? I used his momentum to get him on the ground. Usually you'd follow that up with a hold of some kind, or an old fashioned punch. I prefer the latter personally. Now split up into your usual teams and try it. Without the punching."

Darwin walked off the mat and she followed. "That hurt, even with my adaptation."

"Sorry, Darwin. You can get me tomorrow." Vi clapped his shoulder with a smile.

"Man, Josh and Kevin are really into it."

She laughed and Darwin looked at her quizically. "They're trying to show off for Laurie."

"Ah." He crossed his arms over his chest as he watched the kids stumble and struggle. "Do you think we should show them again?"

When she didn't reply, he turned his head to find her staring out of the window. Charles, Alex, and Sean were just outside working with Noriko, Allison, and Julian. She had been doing that often the last few months. Darwin knew from Alex that Vi had suddenly stopped speaking with Sean after her birthday, with no explanation as to why.

He finally broke the silence between them "So what's up with you and Sean?"

She spun around, looking like she had just been slapped, "What are you talking about?"

Darwin chuckled and shook his head. "You know what I'm talking about. You've barely said a word to him in months."

Vi played with the drawstring on the hood of her sweatshirt and mumbled, "It's complicated."

"You like him. I don't see what's so complicated about that." He said softly.

She dropped the string and sighed. Darwin was always so honest, and she never hated that trait until now. Deep down, she had an inkling that her reaction might be a little ridiculous, and his words made her feel even worse. "I don't have a very good track record with relationships. My last boyfriend went rogue and tried to kill me and my friends. Excuse me if I don't want a repeat."

"That's the problem, you're thinking about that other guy, not Sean. You're stuck in the past, and it's holding you back. You have to move forward or you'll never be happy."

She snorted dismissively "You sound like a goddamn fortune cookie."

Darwin opened his mouth to speak, but Charles cut in before he could. "Darwin, Vi, Noriko and Julian wanted to join your lesson. It seems to be going...well." At that point, the lesson had just resorted to Josh and Kevin wrestling while Laurie and David watched.

"I...uh" She glanced at Sean for a split second. "I got distracted. Can you take over, Darwin?"

"Yeah, sure."

Vi brushed past Sean and left the room. He watched her walk down the hall until she turned left, then directed his attention back to the others. The adults were all looking at him and he shrugged.

* * *

Sean tapped on the door, gently since he knew Alex and Darwin were sleeping. "Vi, it's Sean. Can I come in?"

Either she was asleep, she didn't hear him, or she was ignoring him, because he got no answer. He would have bet on the latter. He knocked again, and still no answer. As he raised his hand again, the door opened, revealing Vi. Her voice was thick which, along with her bloodshot eyes, gave Sean a good idea of what she had been doing. "What do you want?"

Sean took a deep breath. "I just wanted to talk. Can I come in?"

She squeezed her eyes shut and pinched the bridge of her nose. With a sigh, she opened them and stepped back to let him in. Sean heard music playing, and his attention turned to the record player on her dresser. He got closer and saw the slip cover to the album he had given her the last night they talked. "And here I thought you stopped talking to me because you didn't like your gift." He turned to Vi as she shut the door. The look in her eye said she wanted to laugh, but her face stayed straight.

"I love it actually." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Then why don't you dance with me?" Sean held out his hand.

He arms dropped and she sputtered, "W-what?"

"Dance with me."

Vi took his hand reluctantly and he pulled her in. She tried to keep a good distance between them. "You wanted to talk, so talk."

"Did I do something wrong? I keep replaying that night in my head and I'm drawing a blank, so can you just tell me?" Sean asked, desperation creeping into his voice.

Vi's face softened, "You didn't do anything wrong."

"Then what's with the cold shoulder?" They swayed slowly to the music.

"It's not you, it's me. Wait, that sounds bad." She cursed under her breath and bowed her head. "It's a long story."

"We've got time." Sean twirled her and pulled her back in again.

"I like you a lot, I really do." Sean's heart leaped, and the smile on his face made her heart do the same. "It's just that...there was this guy. John. We met when I first came to the school, and we got together not too long after. A few years later, there was this...incident. I was taken by the government, along with some other students. When we were rescued, I found out that John left and joined Magneto. He didn't even stay to make sure I was alive, or to say goodbye, he just...left."

She let out a shaky breath and looked at Sean to find him listening intently. "About a year after that, we had to fight him and The Brotherhood. He nearly killed me, and he made me lose my powers. And a while after that, he sent me back here. The thing is, I was mainly with him because I thought I only deserved someone as screwed up as me, but he still broke my heart. I wasn't half as fond of him as I am of you."

"You're afraid that you're going to get hurt again." It all made sense now. She was just trying to protect herself. "You don't have to worry about that."

Vi smiled, touched by the softness in his voice. "I'll always worry about that. My whole life's been me getting hurt. I have enough baggage to fill an airport."

"You're not the only one." She tilted her head, as if to tell him to go on. "My first love. Her name was Maeve. When I left for school, we broke up. It hurt, but it was the best thing for both of us. I was here a little over six months when I got the news." He took a deep breath. "She was visiting some family, and there was an IRA bombing. She died."

A tear escaped from his eye, and Vi carefully wiped it away with her thumb. "I'm so sorry."

"Me too. I've felt so guilty about it ever since and I used to think about her all the time. Now, I still think about her every day, but it's not the crushing weight it used to be." He brought his hand up to cup her cheek, "I know you have a lot, but you don't have to carry it alone."

She leaned into his palm and smiled at him sadly, "I know. I just need time."

Sean's shoulders dropped, but he nodded, moving his hand back to her hip. "I can wait."

Vi stretched up and softly kissed his cheek. She pulled him closer and laid her head on his chest as they moved with the music.

 _Don't want nobody, nobody, 'cause baby, it's you.  
Baby, it's you.  
Don't leave me all alone... _


	16. Big Trouble In Little Dallas

November 22nd, 1963

"A few months ago, I never would have throught this was possible!" Sofia yelled over the wind that was carrying her before twirling in the air with a laugh.

Vi flew next to her, a smile breaking out across her face, "I told you you'd get it down. You're a pro now."

 **Vi.**

The suddeness of Charles' voice made her drop a few feet below Sofia. The girl joined her again with a concerned look.

 _What the hell?! You nearly gave me a heart attack!_

 **You all need to go to Dallas immediately. I sensed Angel's mind and-**

 _Wait, isn't the President in Dallas today?_

 **Yes.**

 _Shit._

* * *

Darwin, Alex, Sean, and Vi sat strapped into the Blackbird as Hank flew them to their destination. Vi's thoughts couldn't help but wander back to Cuba, and she hoped that maybe they wouldn't fail so spectacularly this time. If they did, that could mean a dead president.

Hank's voice brought her back. "Charles is going to use Cerebro to shield us from Emma so she doesn't see us coming, assuming she's not in her diamond form. We have to be careful after that. He won't be able to protect all of us from direct telepathic attacks."

"Tell me you put some kind of cloaking tech in here, Hank." Telepathic shielding wouldn't really give them an advantage if the Brotherhood could see their giant jet in the sky.

"What do you think I've been doing for the past year?" Hank asked incredulously.

"Honestly? We just thought you were moping." Sean replied with a shrug.

"We'll be there in a minute," Hank huffed, choosing to ignore the comment. He paused a moment and his shoulders slumped. "We're too late. President Kennedy is dead."

The other mutants all exchanged looks.

Darwin spoke up when the others stayed silent. "What do we do now?"

Hank relayed what he heard on the comms, "Erik has been apprehended by the authorities. The Brotherhood are already fighting off the police and Secret Service, and military reinforcements have been called." The jet slowed and Hank flipped a few switches. "We're here. I'm going to drop you guys and land the jet, then I'll be joining you."

The bomb bay doors opened and the four unstrapped themselves. Vi pulled her goggles over her eyes and walked over to look out at the ground underneath them. "I can take Havok. Darwin, do you think you'll be okay landing from this height?"

"It won't be a problem."

"Alright. Banshee, try to jump as late as possible so you don't give us away too fast." Vi motioned to Alex and he grabbed her waist tight. "Let's go."

Darwin jumped first, and Vi and Alex followed after. The two of them surveyed the scene. Civilians ran from a large tornado that Riptide had created in the street, while the police attempted to fight off Azazel and Emma. The ground shook violently and Vi flinched. "I'll get Riptide and whoever the hell that is. You and Darwin take care of Emma and Azazel." Alex nodded, and she dropped him next to the crater that Darwin created on impact before heading towards Riptide's location.

Something came along and hit her back hard. She righted herself and found that it was Angel. The girl smirked and shot forward again in an attempt to attack. Vi focused and threw a fireball at her, knocking her backwards. Angel's smirk turned into a scowl, and she lunged again, but with an earpiercing shriek, she was propelled towards the ground.

Sean nodded to Vi before screaming again to keep himself gliding. Another tremor reminded her of what she was initially doing, and she flew down to meet Riptide.

* * *

Azazel disappeared in a puff of smoke, and Darwin immediately felt his tail wrap tightly around his neck. Alex prepared to hit the teleporter with a plasma blast, but he was knocked to the cement by his own opponent.

Emma stood above him, the facets of her diamond skin sparkling in the sun. "Oh!" She exclaimed in a mocking tone. "Did that hurt?" She reached down and pulled him up by the neck, holding him up in the air. Her fingers tightened around his throat, and he grabbed at her wrist.

"Not as much...as this is going to...hurt you." _I hope_ , he added mentally as he squeezed his eyes shut in concentration. Alex's skin began to glow red, and his gloves burned away, leaving his bare hands touching her skin, which turned red hot n his grip. Emma's smile slowly turned to shock as she dropped him with a gasp. She grabbed her arm and the red glow faded from the diamond.

"I guess I'll have to do this the old fashioned way." She said sinisterly, turning back to her flesh form.

Alex attempted to push himself off of the ground, but the excruciating pain in his head made him drop back to his knees. He gripped his head and screamed out in agony. Images and voices filled his head as he struggled to breathe.

 _"Your own parents didn't even want you, why would anyone else?"_

 _"Haley, get out of here!_ "

 _"Gotcha now, pretty boy."_

 _"You're nothing but a murderer."_

"Alex!" Darwin called out as he fought off the teleporter. To Alex, it sounded like a far away echo.

"What a troubled little mind. Let's see what else we can dig up-"

A sharp blow to the back of her head sent Emma tumbling to the ground. "That's enough."

Alex looked up, blinking the spots from his vision. Hank stood above him and extended his paw, which Alex took and helped himself up. He swayed slightly, his head still pounding, but Hank grabbed his shoulder to keep him upright. "Thanks, Beast."

Hank nodded. "I'm going to help Darwin." Alex attempted to go with him, but he stopped him. "Stay here, you need to take a moment to recover."

Alex knew he was right. His little stunt with Emma had taken quite a bit of energy, and her assault on his mind left him with a nasty headache. Hank and Darwin would be able to handle Azazel. Then he thought of Sean, who he could see fighting Angel in the air, and Vi, who was taking on the other two elementals. He wasn't as sure about them.

* * *

Vi circled in the air as she attempted to keep Riptide's tornadoes from hitting any buildings, though the other young man was destroying them anyway. Luckily, there weren't many civilians left hanging around, because although she had improved recently, taking on elemental mutants still gave her trouble.

Riptide smirked at her from the ground as he created another tornado and set it loose towards Sean and Angel. She redirected the air and landed on the ground several yards away from him. "Big mistake!" Vi shouted at him over the roaring of the wind. Her eyes glowed even brighter and she could feel the rage fighting to be set loose. She didn't resist.

The tornadoes that swirled around merged into one and she sent it towards him. It picked him up and his screams came muffled from inside. Not keen on killing him, she let the tornado dissipate, and it dropped him right at her feet. Before he could move, she kicked him in the head and knocked him out cold.

With a rumble, the ground split in front of her feet, sending her flying backwards. "It seems you have forgotten about Avalanche!" The young man came closer, his hands stretched out towards her.

A bright flash of energy threw him into one of the surrounding buildings. "I can't believe he just referred to himself in the third person," Alex said with a snort as he jogged over to her. He offered his hand and pulled her up.

"Apparently he's read one too many comic books-" A loud rumbling sound cut her off. Tanks. "That would be those reinforcements Hank told us about. They're close."

Darwin approached and stopped in front of them. "You two alright?"

"Yeah we're good, but we need to get out of here. Let's-" Darwin hit Alex in the gut, knocking the air out of him.

"What the hell?" Alex gasped.

Darwin's skin rippled and turned to a scaly blue.

Vi nodded towards Alex, "Go meet up with the others, I'll take care of her."

He reluctantly left, and Raven wasted no time to attempt to roundhouse kick her in the face. Vi dodged the hit and threw a punch, which Raven caught.

"You need to get out of here, Raven. The Army's coming, and I don't think they're taking prisoners."

As if on cue, gunshots rang out, and they looked in the sky to see Angel spiraling towards the ground, her wings flapping weakly. Before Sean could catch her, she hit the ground with a loud crack.

"ANGEL!" Raven screamed.

Farther away, they saw Azazel attacking Darwin, Hank, and a group of soldiers. He killed about five of the men before their gunshots brought him down. Raven gasped and Vi turned to find her with tears in her eyes.

More soldiers converged on them. Her eyes darted between Azazel's body and Raven and the pieces fell together. "Raven...are you pregnant?" The shapeshifter didn't answer, and that was all the answer she needed.

The soldiers got closer and closer, aiming their guns at the two. Shots rang out again and Vi pushed Raven behind her. Pain tore through her abdomen, but she ignored it and took a page out of Avalanche's book. She pushed up the cement under the soldiers' feet and sent them backwards.

She looked down at her stomach to find blood staining the yellow torso of her uniform. "Go, Raven." Her old friend watched her with concern, but she waved her off. "NOW!" Raven shifted into a soldier and ran away.

Vi pressed a hand over her wounds and flew over to Sean, who had landed on a roof after Angel was shot down. His eyes widened when he saw the blood, but she ignored him. "We need to grab the others and get the hell out of here."

"But you're-"

"Just fine. Now come on." She grabbed his waist and lifted them both up off the roof. They found the other three hiding behind some rubble for cover. As she weighed her options, she felt the wind change, and turned to see a large tornado. The soldiers dropped their assault on the grounded X-Men and ran from the twister.

She landed them next to the others and stumbled as she her feet hit the ground, with Sean barely catching her. "We need...to get out of here."

Hank steadied her and looked over her wounds. "The Blackbird's on a roof a few blocks East. You and Sean are the only two that can fly, and getting there on foot is going to be impossible."

"Okay...Everybody gather together." They weren't sure where she was going with it, but they did as she said. She kneeled down a placed a hand to the concrete. Her energy was fading fast, but she managed to rip the ground underneath them away and lift it up, leaving them on a floating platform.

Hank pulled a small device out of the pouch on his hip and pressed a button. "I'll turn off the camoflauge on the jet when we get close so you'll know where to drop us."

"Got it." Vi coughed, and blood dripped from her mouth onto the concrete. Alex noticed this and glanced at Sean, who looked much more pale than usual. He watched as Sean crouched down next to her and pressed his gloved hand firmly against her wounds, since her hands were full at the moment. It probably wouldn't help much with the shape she was in, but she still gave him a weak smile.

She ignored their voices, and she ignored the fact that the air had calmed after the last round of gunshots, because if she didn't put every ounce of her concentration into it, they would fall out of the sky. It was possible for her to manipulate the water in her blood to reduce the loss, she had practiced it before, but she couldn't risk expending that energy.

The feeling of the concrete under her fingertips disappeared only to be replaced with a cold numbness. More blood dripped from her mouth, and her view started to spin. "Just...a little longer." She whispered to herself, spitting out the blood that kept coming faster and faster. The platform dropped a few feet, but she managed to catch it. "Just..."

"It's right here." Hank informed her, sounding tinny and far away.

With a glance over the edge, she saw the jet and stopped them in the air. She let out a small sigh, but instead fell into a coughing fit. Her chest felt like it was being torn apart.

She landed them on the roof hard, making them all stumble. Sean scooped her up and hopped off the platform. That movement and the way she shook as he ran her to the jet made her cry out in pain. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he whispered. The door dropped open and he rushed inside.

"Put her on the floor," Hank commanded as he boarded and grabbed a bag from the corner. "Darwin, take the controls."

Vi stared up at the metal ceiling as he gently set her down. Her body was ice cold, and the pain began to fade away. She watched Hank grab some things from the bag and begin to work on her, but she could barely feel it.

She turned her head towards Sean and saw his lips move. It sounded like she was underwater. "...going...okay...hang..."

Before the spots took up the rest of her vision, three figures appeared above her, and she smiled as her eyes slipped closed.


	17. Darwin is Always Right

_November 28th, 1963_

"She's waking up."

"It doesn't look like it."

"I can feel it. Give her a moment."

The voices felt far away as they echoed in her head. She could feel the ghost of a hand holding her own as it began to feel more solid. With that came an ache in her abdomen, which helped bring her fully out of her slumber. Her eyes slowly cracked open and she found herself in her bed, surrounded by the younger mutants.

The hand that held hers belonged to Sean. The dark circles under his eyes made him seem so much older than he was, but the relieved smile on his face overshadowed them.

"Welcome back." Charles said from his spot opposite Sean.

"How long has it been?" She cringed at how hoarse her voice was.

"Nearly a week. Mr Foley was able to speed along your recovery considerably."

Vi turned to Josh, "Thanks."

He nodded, "Anytime."

"Hank said you should be fully healed in a week or so." Sean sounded absolutely exhausted despite the happy news.

"Then you can go back to teaching Kevin and Josh the best ways to beat each other up. They're not as creative on their own." David grinned, even after Charles shot him a look.

Vi laughed, but the motion aggravated her wounds, and her hand flew to her stomach. Josh stepped forward, but she held up her hand to stop him. "It's okay, I'm fine."

Charles rolled his chair back from the bed. "Come on, children. Let's leave them be. She doesn't need this much excitement when she's trying to rest."

The students began to file out of the room, but before he could leave as well, Vi called out, "Charles?"

He stopped his chair and maneuvered to face her again, "Yes?"

She mulled it over in her head before asking him. "I...I was just wondering...Why didn't I remember that Magneto killed the President? It's weird. Looking back, I knew, but I couldn't recall it."

Charles' reply was measured. Careful. "I believe that it has something to do with the blocks placed in your mind. I sensed them before. It seems that...I created them."

"By you, you mean-"

"My future self, yes."

"You and Hank knew that I would be sent back here." It explained a lot actually, like how future Hank seemed to recognize her when they met on her first day of classes. It seemed he had been right during their discussions on time travel, she was in a sort of loop. All of this had happened before. "So if older me didn't stop me from going throught that portal, that must mean that I really am supposed to be here. Or old me was already dead at that point. Or it would be a paradox because if my older self kept me from going back, she wouldn't _exist_ to keep me from going back." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "God, this is giving me a headache."

"I know." Charles turned his chair around and headed towards the door. "Perhaps it's best not to dwell on your past. It seems you're here to stay, like it or not."

Vi watched as he left the room and David shut the door behind them with a click. She turned to Sean and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "Hey."

"Hey."

She hesitantly touched his face with her free hand. "You look tired. Have you slept?"

He shrugged. "A little. I've been preoccupied." His thumb ghosted over her knuckles and she gave him a smile, which he returned.

Darwin had a point, she had known that, but the fact that she nearly died in Dallas made it all the more real. She couldn't keep living in the past anymore. She needed to seize the moment before it was all gone forever.

"Anya."

"Huh?"

The name felt so foreign on her lips, like the girl it belonged to was worlds away. "Anya. That's my real name, but I haven't been called that in, hell, 10 years? When I lost my family, it just didn't feel right anymore. I met a girl and she gave me the name. Everyone's called me Vi ever since."

"Why're you telling me this?" Sean had been curious about her name for a long time, but the suddeness threw him off.

"Because I trust you, Sean. Because I want to let you in. Darwin told me that I needed to move forward and he was right. So...do you wanna do this?" She hoped that he hadn't changed his mind about wanting this. The thought of him doing so made it hard for her to breathe, or maybe it was just the internal damage.

Sean beamed at her,"Yeah, yeah I do."

The vise grip on her lungs eased up and she smiled. "Good." Vi let go of his hand and carefully scooted over before patting the space beside her. "Now that that's settled, you need some sleep."

Sean didn't have the energy to argue, nor did he want to, so he kicked his shoes off and flopped down onto the bed. Vi wasted no time to pull him over into her side. He rested his head on her chest and slung an arm over her stomach, careful not to touch her wounds. Her fingers gently combed his curls, eliciting a content sigh from him. She could get used to this.

* * *

 _Epilogue_

 _September 1st, 1965_

It was the first official day at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, and it had been going quite well so far. All of the teachers, save for Hank, were out greeting parents as they dropped off their enthusiastic children. Charles watched with a smile as the new students chattered amongst each other and said goodbye to their parents. His dream was finally a reality.

Vi came up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You did it, Charles."

"We all did." After Cuba and Dallas, Charles began to lose hope, but today it had been restored. His school was open, and he wouldn't have been able to do it without his X-Men.

The children all rushed inside to meet the older students, who would be there to help them find their way around the mansion. Charles headed towards the entrance himself, and Vi stayed behind a moment to watch the scene. The place wouldn't feel so empty anymore.

Suddenly, a pair of arms slipped around her waist, and a chin rested on her shoulder. "You ready for this, babe?"

She placed her hands over Sean's and leaned into him. "I think so."

"Y'know, we're official teachers now. We have to be _responsible_ , meaning no more dye in Alex's shampoo." Vi could practically hear the smile in his voice.

"Who said anything about being responsible?" Charles, probably, but she didn't make a habit of listening to him in those situations anyway.

"I hoped you'd say that." He kissed her shoulder and unwrapped his arms from around her.

She laced her fingers with his and pulled him towards the mansion, "Now let's go. We've got classes to teach."

* * *

 **And that's a wrap!**

 **This story has been quite a journey for me so far, and honestly, a little messy, but I've enjoyed it greatly, and I hope that you all have as well. If you did, you'll be happy to hear that this story is getting a less jumpy (and way more planned out) DOFP-based sequel. In fact, you can read the first chapter right now! It's called Time After Time, because I can't resist time travel jokes.**


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